Before you can start your research you need to select a topic. Your topic should:
fit the requirements of your assignment
not be too general (broad) or too specific (narrow)
interest you!
To help you focus your topic, it's best to put your topic into the form of a question.
For a refresher on Topic Development, check out Module 2 Topic Development of BILT: Basic Information Literacy Tutorial.
Next, break your topic into 2 or 3 main concepts.
Then brainstorm keywords for each concept. Think of synonyms or related terms. A thesaurus, dictionary, or your textbook can be useful when thinking of related terms. Sometimes broader or narrower terms can be helpful too.
Why brainstorm? When searching, it's hard to know what words authors will use when they're writing about your topic. It's a good strategy to have a list of possible keywords ready so you can swap out terms as you search and hopefully get more and/or better results.
Think about:
clinical terms versus lay terms
myocardial infarction vs. heart attack
neoplasm vs. cancer
acronyms versus the term(s) spelled out
HIV vs. human immunodeficiency virus
HIPAA vs. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
variations of a term
ultrasonography, ultrasound, sonography
The way you combine your keywords in a search can make a big difference in the quality of results found.
Review Module 4 Search Strategies of BILT: Basic Information Literacy Tutorial for more details on the following strategies.
Boolean Logic:these operators are used to combine keywords:
AND:
use to combine concepts
each term MUST be present in the search results
narrows your results
finds fewer results
example: visitation AND intensive care units
OR:
use when searching for synonyms or related terms
broadens your results
finds more results
example: ICU OR intensive care units
Truncation:takes a root word and finds all endings of that word. The truncation symbol is the asterisk, *.
expands your search
finds more results
helpful when searching for both singular and plural forms of a word
example: infect* will find infect, infects, infected, infection, infecting, etc.
Phrase Searching:is useful when you are searching for keywords that are more than one word. Use quotes, " ", around terms.
focuses your search
use when you want your terms to appear together, exactly as entered
more precise than combining terms with AND
example: "intensive care unit" will find better, more focused results than intensive AND care AND unit
Example Research Topic
Once you have selected a topic and before you start searching for resources, it is helpful to perform these steps:
Topic:Is flossing an effective treatment for periodontal disease?
