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Writing 101: Preventing Pandemics

LibGuide for Writing 101 Students

Science & Engineering Librarian

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Deric Hardy
He/Him

Contact:
Perkins 233
Email me: deric.hardy@duke.edu
Call me: 919-660-5928

Day 2: Developing Keywords and Creating Database Searching

 
"A student seated at a desk in a classroom with other students with face masks at a computer, " generated by OpenAI's Dall-3, February 26, 2025
 
Goals: (1) Turn research questions into keywords and (2) Use your keywords to create database searches.

Step 1: Identify Relevant Keywords from Concepts in Your Research Topic

 
  • Keywords are terms generated from the main concepts of your research question.

Develop Keywords from your Research Topic to Search for Peer-Reviewed Articles in Research Databases

  • Turn your research question concepts into keywords:

"Did the economic policies of Liberia in 2014 impact healthcare access and contribute to the transmission of the Ebola Virus Disease?"

  • Economic policies
  • Liberia
  • 2014
  • healthcare access
  • transmission
  • Ebola Virus Disease

Additional Tip for Developing Keywords with a Topic Map

Use a Topic Map

  • A topic map is a tool for organizing your thoughts and developing a comprehensive list of keywords for your research.
  • You can develop additional keywords such as synonyms, acronyms, and variant spellings as subtopics for your research.

 


Download - Blank Topic Map: https://guides.library.duke.edu/ld.php?content_id=79884379

Create additional keywords with synonyms, acronyms, and other related terms

  • Synonyms: Words or phrases that mean the same or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the same language.
    • Example: Ebola = "Hemorrhagic Fever", "Ebola Virus Disease", "Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever", etc
  • Acronyms: Words formed from the initial letters of a phrase. They're like linguistic shortcuts.
    • Example: EVD, HF, Ebola HF, etc

Use Keywords to Create Database Searches

Select a relevant database to search for peer-reviewed articles
 
  • Multi-disciplinary databases perform broader scoped searches:
    • Begin your search in a database such as Web of Science for a broader range of your epidemic literature search
  • Subject-specific databases perform more narrowly scoped searches:
 

Use AND OR and NOT to Refine Your Library Database Search

You may add the following operators in addition to your keywords to refine your search results

  • AND: Narrows your search results
    • Example, Ebola AND Liberia
  • OR:  Broadens your search results.
    • Example, Ebola OR EVD OR Ebola Virus Disease
  • NOT: Excludes terms that you do not want to appear in your search results.
    • Example, Ebola AND Liberia NOT Guinea