Identify the keywords or key phrases in your research need.
Example:
What are the effects of plastics on the environment?
Identify synonyms for those words and phrases:
plastics | environment |
plasticizers | environmental |
phthalates | ecology |
ecological |
Use search techniques to improve your search results:
“plastic bottles” | quotation marks around phrases |
ecolog* = ecology or ecological | symbols to expand search terms (truncation) |
plastics AND environment* | AND, OR, NOT to combine search terms |
“plastic bottles” AND ecology* | put it all together |
Use the "Identifying Search Terms Worksheet" below to try it yourself.
Mind mapping is a good tool for brainstorming and developing research questions. For help creating your own mind map, check out Mind42 and a tutorial from the University of Arizona on mind mapping by navigating to the links below.