Selecting Keywords
Once you have decided on a topic, select keywords to search. Keywords are the words you will type into the library OneSearch or database search box. These are not complete sentences.
For example, for a research paper examining how plastic pollution in the ocean is affecting sea turtles, keywords could include:
- plastic pollution ocean sea turtle
- marine pollution reptile loggerhead leatherback health
As you find sources, you may find new keywords to try. If you get too many results, be more specific. You could narrow the topic to a certain location or time period. If you get too few results, be more broad. You could expand your search to include a wider range of species or a wider geographic area.
Understanding Scientific Keywords
Searching for information can be challenging, and this may be even more challenging if you're researching a topic that you don't know much about yet. Here are some tips:
- Read about your topic in an encyclopedia or book first to get a broad overview
- Look up technical terms or scientific names you are unfamiliar with in a science dictionary
- Search for your topic on the internet for background information and definitions of terms (be sure to check out step 3 on credible sources!!)
Find Background Information & Definitions
Biology
The American Heritage Student Science Dictionary
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