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State your research question/topic
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EXAMPLE: "How do cigarette companies target children with their advertising?"
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Identify main concepts:
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EXAMPLE: "How do cigarette companies target children with their advertising?"
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Brainstorm synonyms, related terms, broader terms, scientific/technical terms, and more specific terms based on your own background knowledge:
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EXAMPLE:
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Cigarette companies: Philip Morris, Camel, Imperial
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Children: child, adolescent, teen, teenager, students, youth
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Advertising: ads, marketing, commercials, promotions, product placement
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Avoid the following:
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Abbreviations - spell them out
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Relationship words - words like compare, contrast, causation, etc.
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Judgement words - words like best, worst, pro, con, etc.
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If needed, search Wikipedia and other reference sources to further develop your list of keywords.
Avoid Natural Language
- Stick to keywords and phrases - don't write out questions in full.
Use Quotation Marks Around Phrases
- This ensures your search results will include the phrase, not the individual words found separately in the document.
Use the Advanced Search
- It will be located in different places depending on the database, but it will help refine and improve your search.
Use Limiters Provided by the Database to Narrow/Focus Your Results
- Limiters are usually found on the left or right hand side of your search results.
- Limit by source type, date of publication, reading level, subject, publication, and more
Use Boolean Operators
