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Identify Keywords
When using library resources, it's usually best to pick out the main concepts of your topic and search by using these (referred to as keywords), instead of a sentence or question. Consider which parts of your topic are essential, and use those.
When looking for keywords, focus on nouns and noun phrases; these are more effective search terms. Ignore verbs and words like influenced, affected, etc.
Here are some example search terms:
- constitutional law
- civil procedure
- tort reform
You can combine your essential keywords with the word AND. AND means that all these words must be present in your search results.
- Florida AND voting laws
- eyewitness testimony AND reliability
- legal assistants AND remote work
To keep phrases (two or more words) together, place them in quotation marks: "eyewitness testimony".
Subjects: A Better Way to Search
Sometimes your topic can be expressed in many different ways. Which is the right way? There are also ways that experts in a field phrase a term that are different than common usage. Using controlled vocabulary can help you retrieve better search results. This is like a hashtag for a topic, and will let you find the scholarly conversation available. By using the official terms, you will find more relevant results.
Controlled vocabulary is frequently referred to as subjects or subject headings. You can scan library catalog and database results for sources that look relevant and see which subjects are listed.
