Slide 1
Welcome to the tutorial on brainstorming keywords.
Slide 2
In this tutorial, you’ll learn:
[click] reasons why you might brainstorm keywords
[click] how to identify the key concepts in your topic, and
[click] how to brainstorm for keywords
Slide 3
So, why should you brainstorm keywords?
Let’s start with an example. What would you call the item in this picture?
[click] You might start by saying that this is a computer.
[click] But you might be more specific, and say that this is a PC, not a Mac.
[click] If the brand of the computer was visible, you might say this was a Dell or HP computer.
[click] Or you could say that this is a desktop computer or a tower, instead of a laptop computer.
Just as we’ve seen that there are several different ways you can describe the concept of a computer, there are
usually several different ways to describe a concept that you are researching. The first word that comes to your
mind for a concept may not be the word used by an author writing about that topic, but brainstorming can help
make sure that you think of these additional words and include them in your search.
Slide 4
Another reason to brainstorm keywords is that it helps you focus on terms instead of phrases. This is important
because the library databases and catalogs depend on terms, not phrases, unlike Google.
For example, if you are writing a paper on the behavioral effects of watching violent television on children
[click], you could type that phrase in Google and get lots of results. Here’s how Google uses the phrase you
enter:
[click] First it finds documents where the whole phrase is anywhere on a page.
[click] Then it searches for documents where words from the phrase appear near each other on the page.
Then, if it can’t find any documents that meet those criteria, [click] Google searches for documents where some
of the words from your phrase appear somewhere on the page.
When you use library databases or catalogs, the search engine only goes through the first step – finding the
entire phrase in a document. Using keywords instead of phrases ensures that your search returns more relevant
articles. While it may take a little more preparation up front, using the library’s resources can help you find high
quality information on your topic.
Slide 5
Now that you know to use terms instead of phrases in your search, we’re going to focus on how to choose the
terms to use in your search. To begin this process, we’ll focus on determining the key concepts of your topic.
Key concepts are the underlying ideas that you are researching. Usually, your topic will have more than one key
concept – it’s not unusual to have three or four.
For example, if you are writing a paper on [click] the representation of women in film, the key concepts would
be [click] women and film.
Or if you were writing about [click] the consequences of oil spills on marine life, the key concepts would be
[click] oil spills and marine life.
While [click] representation and consequences are part of your topic or thesis, these terms themselves do not
represent concepts that you will be researching.
Slide 6
Once you’ve got the key concepts for your topic, you’re ready to start brainstorming keywords.
One way to get started brainstorming is to think of [click] synonyms for your concepts. If one of your concepts
was [click] teenagers, you might think of synonyms like [click] teens, youth, or young adults. To help think of
synonyms, you can use a thesaurus or a keyword mapping tool, like [click] www.kwmap.net.
You should also think of [click] narrower terms. Continuing with the concept of teenagers, you might pick
narrower terms such as [click] high school students, teenage girls, or 17-yr olds.
To round out your brainstorming, think of [click] broader terms or concepts related to your key concept. For
example, you could use terms such as [click] children or students.
Slide 7
Sometimes you may have a hard time coming up with keywords during the brainstorming process; this may
happen because you are not familiar enough with your topic to know the narrower and broader terms associated
with it. To help you find additional keywords, as well as learn more about your topic, you can use background
information.
One great source for background information is subject encyclopedias. You may be familiar with general
encyclopedias like Encyclopedia Britannica or World Book, which provide an overview and basic facts about a
wide range of topics. Subject encyclopedias also provide an [click] overview and basic facts, but they focus on a
specific subject and can therefore provide more detailed entries than general encyclopedias can.
One easy way to locate subject encyclopedia entries on your topic is to use [click] Gale Virtual Reference
Library, available through the Digital Library. This is a database consisting of subject encyclopedia entries that
enables you to search through the full-text of the entries for your key concepts.
Slide 8
In this tutorial on brainstorming keywords, you learned
why you should brainstorm keywords
how to identify the key concepts of your topic before brainstorming
and tips for brainstorming keywords.
SECOND RECORDING:
SLIDE 1:
Welcome to the UT tutorial on brainstorming keywords.
SLIDE 7:
(2 clicks first)
One easy way to locate subject encyclopedia entries on your topic is to use [click] Gale Virtual Reference
Library, available through your UT digital collection. This is a database consisting of subject encyclopedia
entries that enables you to search through the full-text of the entries for your key concepts.