First, identify your research question.
- Does childhood trauma play a role in drug use?
Childhood trauma and addiction are main concepts in this research question. These are the words you would use in a search.
Next, think of alternative concepts and keywords.
- childhood trauma and addiction
Keyword Tips:
- If your search terms include an acronym, be sure to try spelling the acronym out. For example, you might use PTSD or post traumatic stress disorder or posttraumatic stress disorder.
- Use quotes if you want to search a specific phrase. For example, the phrase immigration policy will return results with either of the individual terms anywhere in the text. Adding quotes ("immigration policy") will make sure your results have the exact phrase you searched for.
- An asterisk, or wild card, will look for variations of the root word. It is usually used at the end of a word. A search for librar* would include library, librarian, libraries, and librarians. Alternatively, *place would find displace and misplace.
- Think creatively about your keywords. Instead of teenager, you might use adolescents, young adults, high school students, or something else.