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ENC 1101 (Voigt): Keyword Worksheet

This guide is designed to help students with library research as they complete assignments in ENC1101 with Professor Voigt at the Poinciana Campus.

Keyword Worksheet

How to Choose Your Keywords

Choosing Your Keywords

An effective database search depends on a good choice of keywords (you cannot type a question into the database). How do you pull out keywords from your research question or statement to use in your database search?

  1. Think about your topic. Write it down in the form of a research question or statement.
  2. Circle the most important ideas or concepts in your question or statement. These become your keywords.
  3. Think of some synonyms or related terms that you can use for your keywords. These new keywords will come in handy when you are searching.
  4. Connect your keywords together using the word AND. By adding the word AND, you are telling the database that you want all of these keywords to show up in your search results.
    1. Try changing your search by substituting some of your related terms or synonyms with other keywords in your search.

Here's an example:

What are the effects of technology on communication in teenagers?

Synonyms:

Effects OR Impact

Technology OR Texting OR E-mail

Communication OR  Interpersonal relations

Teenagers OR Adolescents

 

Possible Search strategies:

Technology AND Communication AND Teenagers

Texting AND Interpersonal relations AND Adolescents

Texting AND Communication AND Teenagers AND Effects

Technology AND Interpersonal relations AND Adolescents AND Impact

 

Poinciana Campus Librarian

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Karene Best
Contact:
Poinciana Campus Library - Room 331B
407-582-6025
Website
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