Brainstorm Keywords
Building a bank of keywords will make the rest of your research much simpler.
1. Gather background information, which will give you some key words to start with, and make your research a little easier.
2. Brainstorm other search terms: think of synonyms, or more technical terms, or official language vs. colloquial language
3. Think of some narrower search terms to get even more specific and some broader words in case you aren't finding much.
4. Think about what ideas and terms are related to your subject that might also be helpful.
Even when you've got a good keyword bank started, keep adding to it!
If you find a good article or book, look at the data record to see what other terms and subjects are used to describe it.
Remember that with library resources especially, it pays to search smart:
use AND in between search terms to group them together
use OR for more results
use NOT if you want to exempt a word from your results
use quotation marks "_" to isolate phrases
use the wildcard * to get all versions of a word
Searching using your Keyword Bank
Research is like a treasure hunt or solving a mystery.
We try to combine the right terms in the right place to find the information we need.
How should you combine search terms to find what you are looking for?
Broad Search
Search for information using the single most important term related to your topic. Use this type of search when looking for basic background information.
Specific Search
Search for information by combining key concepts using the words you have brainstormed. Each concept/word should be separated by the word "AND". Use this kind of search when looking for specific evidence related to your claim/thesis.
Getting Too Many Irrelevant Results?
Add more search terms for narrower results.
Getting Too Few Relevant Results?
Change, switch out, or remove some search terms for more accurate or broader results.
SIFT Method
SIFT is a method you can use to evaluate your sources to help determine whether they are credible and reliable. Simply use the four moves below if you are worried about whether a source is trustworthy:
Stop
If you have a strong reaction to information you come across, this is a good indication to do more research.
Ask yourself whether you know the source of the information, as well as that source's reputation. If you don’t have that information, use the other moves to get a sense of what you’re looking at.
Investigate the Source
Take time to look up the source and the author. Is this source credible? Is the author impartial, or do they have a vested interest in the argument that is being made?
One way to quickly determine an author or organization's agenda is to check their Wikipedia page.
Find Better Coverage
Try checking other sources to see how they are covering the topic you are researching. Scanning multiple sources quickly can help you determine the consensus around an issue or claim.
Trace Claims, Quotes and Media
Track down the original source of claims, quotes and media. Reputable news articles will provide links within the text, and academic articles provide sources in their footnotes and bibliography. Tracking down the original source will provide context and will show if that source was misrepresented in the article you are evaluating.
Caulfield, M. (2019, June 19). SIFT (The Four Moves). Hapgood. https://hapgood.us/2019/06/19/sift-the-four-moves/.