Developing effective keywords is a cumulative process. As you begin to locate appropriate sources, they can help you identify additional synonyms for your search. Start by formulating a sentence that specifies what it is that you are trying to find out. Underline or highlight the main terms in your sentence and begin your search with them.
ex. I want to find out how utopian novels by women writers address social issues in order to understand whether such works differ from those written by men.
ex. I want to find out the major traits of Sherlock Holmes in order to understand why Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character had so much influence on later detective stories.
Once you have identified some initial keywords, you can get started by inserting them in search fields in the library catalog database and in academic databases. Keep a list of effective keywords and expand it to include useful synonyms as you think of them or find them in the sources you identify.
Click here to see what a sample keyword search screen would look like in the Fenwick Library online catalog.
Click here to see what a sample keyword search screen would look like in the Expanded Academic ASAP database.
Since databases index their sources by keyword and by subject heading, to maximize your search you will need to identify the subject headings used by specific databases. Click here to learn how to use keywords to identify useful subject headings.