On this page, you will find:
Because every topic of discipline has its own jargon, coming up with lists of keywords will be an integral part of your search process. The more keywords you use to search, the more accurate and successful your search will be. There are a few different ways to find the right keywords to use in your search, but the first step is to consider your research topic and start there:
Think about what concepts you are looking for. For instance, a research topic on the use of sea chanties by nineteenth century British sailors has three main concepts: sea chanties, nineteenth century British history, and sailors.
Next steps:
Term |
Example |
Result |
AND |
Atlantic AND voyage |
Narrows the search to entries containing both terms. |
OR |
ocean OR maritime |
Broadens the search to entries containing either term. |
NOT |
bat NOT baseball |
Excludes entries containing the second term. |
“ ” |
“sea chanty” |
Retrieves results containing the exact phrase in quotes. |
? |
globali?ation |
Wildcard: Retrieves both globalization and globalisation. |
* |
econom* |
Truncation: Retrieves economy, economics, etc. |