Keywords

• Keywords are the terms typed into search boxes to find research on a topic.
• We recommend developing a list of essential concepts before beginning your search.
• Use single words or simple phrases.
• Collect additional keywords as you conduct your search. 
• Utilize a thesaurus and note the Subjects and/or MESH Headings provided in the databases.

Synonyms

• Synonyms and interchangeable terms are important to consider when developing a list of keywords.
• Consider including acronyms and abbreviations as well as the full phrase or formal title of the concept you are searching for:
  • "stuttering severity instrument" AND children
  • "Bilingual Aphasia" AND "case study"
  • "cleft lip" OR "cleft palate"

Combining Keywords

Library resources include options to combine keywords using: AND, OR, & NOT. You can type them in as shown in the search examples below. These Boolean operators may also appear by default, with multiple search boxes available for combining terms. You may need to select Advanced Search to access this feature.

• AND: used to limit a search by requiring the presence of two or more terms/phrases in the search results
• OR: used to broaden a search while staying on topic by incorporating synonyms or interchangeable terms/phrases
• NOT: used to exclude an extraneous or irrelevant terms/phrases from the search results

Simple Phrases

• Use quotation marks to search for a phrase, and prompts the database to return results with the words searched for in the specified sequence.
• Keep phrases brief; typically 2 - 4 words.

Truncation

• Consider truncation using the asterisk symbol to search a word stem with all possible endings: 
  • pedagog* simultaneously searches for: pedagogy, pedagogies, and pedagogical 
  • read* simultaneously searches for: read, reads, reading, reader, etc.
  • learn* simultaneously searches for: learn, learns, learning, learned, learner, etc.

Search Examples

These examples are starting points, or simple searches that utilize core research concepts. They would likely result in hundreds or thousands of search results that you could narrow using the limiting options in the database:

• "action-based" AND "language acquisition"
• "lifelong learning" AND "evidence-based practice"
• ("cleft lip" OR "cleft palate") AND speech

Search for articles in library databases can take hours of trial and error. You will likely need to adjust the keywords, subject headings, and limiters you use to get your search exactly where you want it. Keeping track of your database searches using a search log can help you identify successful strategies and avoid repeating searches.

Search logs can be as simple as a screenshot of your search results page, or as complicated as a color-coded Excel sheet. You should consider including the following information in your search log:

• Date the search was preformed
• Database
• Search terms
• Limiters (filters) or expanders used
• Number of results found
• Notes regarding the quality of the search strategy or what you might do differently for the next search

Download the following attachment to access a search log template for Microsoft Excel. This log is meant for large research projects and may be overly complex for smaller projects like research papers.