Developing a Research Strategy

Build a Keyword Search Utilizing Your Topic Concepts

Recalling your specific research question, think of synonyms for your question's main concepts.

concept 1	___________	synonyms	___________, ___________
concept 2	___________	synonyms	___________, ___________
concept 3	___________	synonyms	___________, ___________

Utilize Keyword Builder to Create Search String

KEYWORD
BUILDER

The NCSU Libraries Keyword Builder demonstrates how your research question's concepts and synonyms can be combined using AND and OR.

Click on the Keyword Builder.
Clear all the entry blanks.
Enter terms you have brainstormed for your research question.

Notice how they are combined into a search string that you can use to search databases like the Hutchin's Library BANC catalog, journal databases, or search engines.

Helpful Hints: When in doubt, keep it simple. Additionally, if you are having trouble thinking of synonyms, be sure to utilize a thesaurus or go online and use resources such as Thesaurus.com to search for synonyms.

Copy the search string created with your terms. Paste it here: