One of the greatest challenges in starting a new research project is deciding which search terms best describe your topic as you begin the search for resources. Try to be really succinct/to the point and use just a couple of keywords instead of typing long sentences. The Keywords Video below explains all of this quickly (less than 2 minutes!), so please watch it now. Here are few more tips:
- Enter keywords that represent your topic:
- Limit searches to two or three keywords or phrases: Native Americans Alcatraz
- Don't search with sentences, questions, or long phrases.
- Combine terms with OR to broaden: ChicanX OR LatinX (this would find items with ChicanX, LatinX or both)
- Combine terms with AND to narrow: Asian Americans AND Cultural Capital (this would find items with both Asian Americans and cultural capital)
- Place quotation marks around words you wish to be searched as a phrase: "environmental justice" California Mexican Americans
