Keywords

Importance of “Keywords” The better your keywords, the better your search results. //__ Boolean Operators __// : Use quotes to search (glue) words together (“Mercury Seven Astronauts”) Use and to limit search results (“Beethoven and Napoleon”) Use or to increase search results (“cars or automobiles”) ("physicians or doctors") **synonyms** - use when there is more than one way of expressing an idea Use not (or -)to eliminate unwanted search results (Eagles not Philadelphia/Eagles -Philadelphia)

//__ Reduce your search to a few words or a phrase __// : “I wonder if there is a reason that Holden Caulfield’s baseball cap is red in //The Catcher in the Rye//?” ( color and symbolism ) “I wonder if left-handed people are more artistic than right-handed people?” ( handedness )

//__Think synonyms__//: "Steroids" performance enhancing drugs hormonal regulation anabolic steroids drug abuse in sports doping organic compounds

Pull keywords from your topic question. Think synonyms, broader and narrower: // Why do North American hurricanes usually form off the west coast of Africa? // __ Keywords __ : Hurricanes (place of origin) Hurricane formation Africa (west coast) Weather (broader) Meteorology (broader and synonym) Natural disasters (broader) Hurricane Katrina (narrower) Atlantic Ocean
 * Example one: **

Pull keywords from an encyclopedia entry: (encyclopedias are great for pre-research) __ Topic __ : Wind Energy __ Keywords __ : Wind power Renewable energy sources Nonpolluting energy Kinetic energy Wind-powered sailing ships Windmills
 * Example two: **

Pull keywords from prior/common knowledge: __ Topic __ : John F. Kennedy __ Keywords __ : U.S. Presidents Election of 1960 Cuban Missile Crisis Jacqueline Kennedy First Ladies Peace Corp. NASA Presidential Assassinations
 * Example three: **