IDENTIFY KEY TERMS

     Identify key terms is one of the most important and primary step in conducting a literature review. Keywords, also commonly called search terms, are the words that you enter into the database search boxes. They represent the main concepts of your research topic and are the words used in everyday life to describe the topic. Without the right keywords, you may have difficulty finding the articles that you need. In shortly we can say that identify key terms or key concepts is actually identifying the main ideas within the research topic. Begin your search of the literature by narrowing your topic to a few key terms using one or two words or short phrases. You should choose these carefully because they are important for initially locating literature in a library or through an Internet search.

                                                          Fig 1. Identifying keywords

 Selecting keywords is a multi-step process that involves:

• Write a preliminary “working title” for a project and select two to three key words in the title that capture the central idea of your study. Although some researchers write the title last, a working title keeps you focused on the key ideas of the study.
• brainstorming synonyms and antonyms that could also be used to describe your topic
• spell out abbreviations
• Visit online databases that are typically available in college or university libraries. For example, one database is the ERIC database (see Educational Resources Information Center [ERIC], 1991; www.eric.ed.gov/). ERIC provides free access to more than 1.2 million bibliographic records of journal articles and other education-related materials and, if available, includes links to full text. ERIC is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences (IES). 
• Go to the bookshelves in a college or university library, scan the table of contents of education journals from the last 7 to 10 years, and look for key terms in titles to the articles. You can also examine the electronic database called Ingenta at your academic library. Ingenta supplies access to full-text online publications and journal publications. Especially helpful is the “browse publications” feature, in which you enter the name of the journal you wish to examine and obtain a list of the titles of articles from that journal for select years. 

Turn your topic into keywords

When doing an internet search in Google or Bing, you can enter your complete research question in the search box and get a bunch of results. However, if you enter your entire research question in the Library databases, you probably won't get any results. This is because the library databases look for the exact words that you enter in the search box(es). If the database can't find all of the words that you entered in the search boxes in the information about an article, it won't bring back any results. That's why it's important to search only for the main parts of your topic.

 Here is an example of a research problem:

Effectiveness of cooperative learning on students academic achievement and their self concept

  The keywords for this topic are listed below

• Cooperative learning
• Academic achievement
• Self concept

  Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms are words that have the same or similar meaning. Antonyms are words that have the opposite meaning. Both can be helpful when trying to determine relevant keywords for your research topic.Some topics have many different terms that can be used to describe them. For example, here are some additional keywords that could be used for academic performance:

• Educational attainment
• Educational achievement
• Academic perfomance

Sometimes when you are researching a specific topic, it can also be helpful to search for the opposite of your topic. For example, if you are interested in student retention, you'll also want to look at student dropouts. Here are some possible synonyms and antonyms for student retention:

• Student Persistence     
• Graduation     
• Dropouts
• School Holding Power     
• Student Attrition     
• Dropout Prevention

Abbreviations

Abbreviations are shortened forms of words or phrases. For example, PTSD is an abbreviation for post-traumatic stress disorder. When searching the library databases, you'll always want to spell out abbreviations and search for the complete word or phrase. Tips: Searching for both the abbreviation and the complete word or phrase will help ensure you are finding all of the relevant results. You can do this by connecting the terms with OR. Do not include parenthesis when searching for both the abbreviation and the full name.

Example: If you are looking for information on Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), you would search for: Cognitive Behavior Therapy OR CBT

Table 1.

Examples of abbreviations used in different fields of study:  

Abbreviation	Complete Phrase
ESL	English as a Second Language
EFL	English as a Foreign Language
SWOT	Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
OCD	Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
ADHD	Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

                                      

It is very rare that your first search will bring back perfect results. It takes trial and error to determine which keywords work best for your topic. Be prepared to run multiple searches in your quest for the keywords that will help you find the materials you need.

References

Creswell, J.W. (2014). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research(4^th ed., pp. 82). Edinburgh Gate: Pearson Education Limited.

Library, W.U. (2020). Keyword Searching: Finding Articles on your topic: Select Keywords. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/keyword/search-strategy

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