Research Skills for Successful Assignments
Research Skills for Successful Assignments
Keywords
When you are researching a topic you will need to look for information in print and online resources.
To do this you will need to identify the keywords to use in your research.
Go through the assignment title and highlight the words that identify exactly what information you need to find.
Choosing keywords
Keywords are usually single words or short phrases.
- Try to think of synonyms (other words that mean the same thing) or similar terms
- Think around the subject to find broader and narrower search terms - ones that are more or less specific.
- Think about the context - words can mean different things in different contexts.
- Remember to consider variations in spelling
| synonyms |
diet, nutrition gardening, horticulture |
| broader or narrower terms |
athletics, throwing, discus cookery, baking, patisserie |
| variations in spelling |
colour, color ageing, aging |
| plurals |
stadium, stadia tooth, teeth |
| scientific and common names |
patella, knee cap flora, flowers |
| terminology peculiar to a country |
football (UK), soccer (US) |
| acronyms |
NHS, National Health Service |
It also helps to keep the following questions in mind:
What? – Which subjects does this project cover?
When? – Which period of time does this project cover?
Where? – Which geographical area does this project cover?
Who? – Which people does this project cover?
Example:
Given the clear benefits of healthy eating, analyse why people today don’t eat more healthily.
| Directive words: | analyse why | give detailed reasons, separated into different parts, e.g. peer pressure, convenience, advertising |
| Keywords: | "healthy eating" | similar terms – diet, nutrition |
| benefits | to “analyse” you will also need to include the drawbacks of unhealthy eating | |
| Limits: | today | the answer has to be current but also implies that comparison with the past is appropriate (e.g. compare the number of fast food outlets in the past) |
| more | this suggests you could include some statistics about dietary trends to support your argument |
Sources of information
Find out about different sources of information and how to use them, click on the link on the right