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Communication 300.6

Persuasive Communication Research Guide

Search by Keyword

What is a keyword? 

Keywords describe the main concepts that you are researching. Enter Keywords into search engines to find useful resources. The right keywords can make your search easier.  An effective search entails different combinations of keywords to find different resources. A good keyword search will involve a degree of trial and error as you experiment with finding the best way to describe your topic. 

Extracting  Keywords

The best way to find keywords is to write out a brief (one- to two-sentence) description of your topic. Highlight the verbs and nouns that you have used in that description. Are those words sufficient to describe your topic? When starting your search, try to limit your search to two to three concepts. Let's take a look at this example.

My research topic: 

How has the use of social media changed the way politicians communicate their platforms? 

The Main concepts:

Social media, Politicians, Platform, Communication

These are the main terms that describe this example topic. And we can use these as we start thinking about other keywords. Synonyms, broader terms, and specific examples my be useful. 

Search Strategy

Now that you have explored your topic and have formulated a working research question, it's time to use your newly formed keywords to find the scholarly sources that you are going to use to build the arguments for your research project. 

Some things to keep in mind as you search:

  • Stay flexible. 
    • Searching is a process. It's likely that you will not find exactly what you are looking for on your first search. Try different keywords and different combinations. 
  • There is not one perfect source.
    • It is very unlikely that you will find one article or book that will say everything that you want to say in your paper (if you do, you might want to consider refining your topic to write on a more original research topic). Consider the types of arguments you could make regarding your topic. How can you find resources on the individual topics that you could then combine in your paper? 
  • Ask for help. 
    • Librarians are here to help. You can email Elizabeth Lang directly at emlang@owu.edu or email the reference desk at libraries@owu.edu, call at 740-368-3225, or chat with us on the library's homepage.