UHP 189 -- Visual World

Why Keywords?

• Because good keywords are essential to good research.
• The more keywords you can think of, the more likely you will find what you are looking for.

Why Synonyms?

Synonyms make your list of keywords longer. More keywords = better searching = more results. Look at the example below to get an idea of how synonyms can broaden your understanding of a given concept:

Our Advice: 

• Make lists of keywords for the main concepts of your research topic.
• Use single words or simple phrases.
• Be prepared that this may all change as you learn more information through your research.
• Be flexible and adaptable in your thinking.
• Use a thesaurus to help generate synonyms.

Consider the following when building your list of keywords:

• Brainstorm terms based on what words you hope to find in the perfect article.
• Consider synonyms for key terms or any terms that are interchangeable.
• What terminology suggests to you that the author knows what they're talking about?
  • Movements: American Modernism, American Regionalism, Modern Art, Modernism, Naturalism, Regionalism, Social Realism, Surrealism
  • Name: Thomas Hart Benton, John Steuart Curry, Marsden Hartley, Margot Peet, Edna Reindel, Grant Wood
  • Title: Achelous and Hercules, Baptism in Kansas, Parade to War
  • Medium: charcoal, chalk, ink, oil painting, pastel, watercolor

Many library resources offer the option to combine your keywords using AND, OR, & NOT.  This can also be useful when searching online.  Use quotation marks to search for a name or phrase.

• AND = All words/phrases must be present; helps limit the search.
  • "John Steuart Curry" AND "mural cycles"
  • "Thomas Hart Benton" AND illustration AND "Mark Twain"
• OR = Great for synonyms or variations of the same concept; helps broaden the search while staying within the subject area.
  • "John Steuart Curry" OR "John S. Curry" 
  • "Margot Peet" OR "Marguere Munger Peet"
  • painting AND (Regionalism OR "American Regionalism")
• NOT = Exclude an unrelated term, or to weed out irrelevant results.
  • ("Thomas Hart Benton" AND "book illustration") NOT "book review"

Produced by UNCG Libraries, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
Descriptive Video Transcript (PDF) by K-State Libraries