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BIO181 - General Biology

The study and principles of structure and function of organisms at the molecular and cellular levels. A detailed exploration of the chemistry of life, the cell, and genetics.

Using Keywords to Build Your Search Strategy to Improve Your Search Results

This video was created by John PFau Library. It explains you how to use keywords, build search strings, and improve your search results.

AGAIN - The Basics

Simple Things to remember:

  • Key-phrases should be taken in double quotes like this:"dog food"
  • Keywords/phrases work like fishing hooks to retrieve the information.
  • Computers do not understand the meaning of keywords/phrases and just recognize the letter sequences. 
  • You construct the meaning: Keywords/phrases should capture what you mean.
  • Keywords are not necessary to your topic words but they name the subject of your research.

For example:

Research question is "How green is green?"

Keywords/phrases:"alternative energy pollution", "solar panel production", "renewable energy", "bacteria factory", "carbon dioxide" + "cleaning bacteria", etc