This document provides guidance on developing effective keywords for searching. It explains that keywords should represent the overlapping ideas in a research question at the appropriate level of specificity. Synonyms should also be considered to avoid missing relevant articles that use different but related terms. The document encourages evaluating keywords based on whether they adequately capture each key idea and are properly broad or narrow in scope for the research.

1. KEYWORDS

2.  A search query typically looks for the
intersection of different but overlapping ideas.
How these ideas are expressed by keywords
determines how successful the search will be.
 Each
dissimilar idea
acts to narrow
the scope of
the search.
VEHICLE
SAFETY AUTONOMOUS

3.  The size of each idea can be increased or
decreased by the choice of words or the
addition of alternate words.
 Each
dissimilar idea
acts to narrow
the scope of
the search.
VEHICLE
SAFETY AUTONOMOUS
AUTOMOBILE
AUTONOMOUS OR
SELF-DRIVING

4.  NOTE ON SYNONYMS: Authors may use a variety of
terms to describe the main ideas in their research. If
your keyword search does not include these words
you may miss some of the key articles in your field.
Spend some time considering synonyms for the
keywords you have chosen.

5. To ensure your search gives the desired
results, consider the following questions:
• Do your keywords represent each key idea in
your research question?
• Is each term appropriately specific (not too
broad or narrow) for your research question?
• Do you need to consider other synonyms for
the keywords you have chosen?

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