Take time to think about your approach, including where to search and what keywords to use. Searching is an organic process. You will likely incorporate new keywords into your strategy as you learn more.
Watch this video for an overview:
Work through this tutorial (5-10 mins) to practice what you learnt in the video above.
Start by highlighting the key content words and phrases (the main ideas) present in your task or question. These tell you what you need to find out or address.
Tip: Ask yourself how would I explain my task or question to another person?
For example, this question has three main ideas:
Tip: Also note any task words (e.g. argue) which tell you how to answer the task or question. Remember you don't need to search on these.
Next consider any synonyms,or other keywords you could use for each main idea. Ask yourself, do you notice authors refer to the main ideas in your task in other ways?
Note these down as you find them in a table or mind map.
Key content words |
working hours | impact | family life |
Synonyms and alternative keywords |
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Tip: As you note alternative keywords consider plurals, different word endings (e.g. parent versus parenting), different word spellings and common acronyms.
If you have a case study for your assessment task use this guide to help you with how to analyse it. Remember when reading a case study you are still looking for those key content words to investigate further.