Building a Search Strategy: Developing Your Topic
Formulating your topic prior to beginning your search can be a good time saver in the end.
Following a process like the
one suggested below will jumpstart your thinking about your topic and provide you with
varying terminology, keywords, and perspectives that will save you time and lead to better results as you begin to search for information.
Describe your topic.
- Briefly describe your topic and what you hope to write about in your research paper.
- The paper proposal that you turn in to your instructor can serve as a description of your topic.
| My paper will discuss the ethical issues associated with the medical use of marijuana. |
What questions do you need to answer as you begin your research?
- List questions that are important to your research about this topic.
- Identify the main words and concepts in each question. These will be your keywords.
- List these words or place them in a concept map.
Should the medical use of marijuana be legalized? |
Research is an inquiry process. Questions play an important role in inquiry!
Identify alternative words and concepts for your keywords.
- Make a list of other words (synonyms) that could be used in place of your keywords. Keep in mind that when different people write or talk about the same topic they may use different terminology.
- Think about terminology that is used by professionals in various disciplines who work with and write about your topic.
- Use a concept map to help you keep track of your keywords and alternative terminology.
- When you search for information using these keywords in varying combinations you will retrieve different sets of results.
Concept #1: |
Concept #2: |
Concept #3: |
Use reference sources to help you identify keywords, terminology, people, places, dates, and events associated with your topic.
- Ask for assistance in identifying good sources about your topic at the Information Services Desk. Different authors may use different terminology, so be prepared to use alternatives in your search.
Identify those subject areas where you are most likely to find articles about your topic.
Think about who is likely to write and read about your topic. Will there be people from more than one discipline be interested?
For example, is your topic of interest to scientists, sociologists, historians, health professionals, etc.?
Keyword/Concept |
Subject area |
marijuana |
chemistry, biology |
medical |
medicine |
legal |
law, politics |
Information about the same topic retrieved from resources in different disciplines or subject areas will present you with different viewpoints on
your topic, ultimately adding depth to your paper.
Updated: 1/17/2008
SKA
