1. Why Keywords?
Learning outcomes:
• Clearly articulate a focused research question
• Choose key concepts or terms appropriate to the
retrieval system selected
• Practice Boolean searching
• Identify types of materials (journals, government
publications, books, web presentations) that may be
used to complete the research.
LIBR 250, Section1
Winter 2013 / Terrones

2. Vocabulary Richness
• Keywords help you narrow your results
• Find connections between concepts
• Saves you time
• Find results that you can use (relevant)
• Research is NOT a one-shot process
• The better your keywords, the better your
results will be!

3. Keyword Tips
• Keep a list as you conduct your research
• Use different spellings of a word
education, educational, educators, educating
• Use synonyms (words that mean the same thing)
• Use related terms (word that have something to do with
your concept, e.g. education ~ teachers)

4. Practice
What are the pros and cons of social media
use by college students?
Key Concept college students Key Concept social media
Synonyms & undergraduate Synonyms &
Related Terms Facebook
Related Terms
university instant messaging
students
blogs
education
networking

5. Boolean Connectors
AND is a Boolean connector word used to
combine two concepts.
college social
students media
AND narrows down your search because your results will
contain articles that have both concepts together,
not just one.

6. Boolean connectors: AND
Use AND to combine different concepts.

7. Boolean Connectors
OR is a Boolean connector word that is used
when you have synonyms.
college
undergraduates
students
OR broadens your search because your results will contain
articles that have all the terms.

8. Boolean connectors: OR
Use OR for synonyms

9. Practice
What role do journalists play in reporting on
the Mexican drug war?
Mexican
role journalists drug war
http://goo.gl/9Iy2O

10. Synonym Finders
• VisuWorld online graphic dictionary
http://www.visuwords.com/
• Thesaurus.com http://thesaurus.com/
• Roget's II : the new thesaurus
Reference Desk PE1591 .R715 2003

11. Task
Each group will select one research questions.
Compile a list of keywords & related terms.
Conduct Boolean searches in Google.
Using a PPT slide, present a list of types of
information you may need to answer the
question.
Types of info: articles
(academic, newspaper), statistics, books, blogs, site:
edu, etc.

12. Google – skip writing “AND” to combine terms

13. Use site: [site:edu; site:nytimes ; site:gov]

14. Use ~ for synonyms [~cartels; ~violence]

15. “Quotation marks” keep phrases together.
Truncation * finds different word endings
[journal* = journalism, journalists, journaling