Locating Potential Search Terms:

General Search Strategies:

- Using keywords to create a search statement.
- Using bibliographic databases appropriate to your topic.
- Changing approaches when necessary-- gathering information is not a step by
step process. You will end up on the wrong path, and have to start over.
Creating a search statement:
a. A search statement is a query that identifies the information that
you are looking for. In other words, its what you type into the search bar to come
up with your desired results.
b. In order to make this statement as efficient as possible, try filling
out the following chart with information relevant to your research topic. [It might
help to use a few trial Google searches to come up with some related keywords]
Research Topic & Question:

Concept 1

Concept 2

Concept 3

Related Keywords:

Example Chart:
Research Topic & Question: Beatlemania; What was so attractive to the American
public about the Beatles? What caused the fan frenzy that made them so popular?
Concept 1

Concept 2

Concept 3

Beatlemania

The Beatles

American reaction

The Beatles United States

British invasion
The Beatles history
The Beatles biography

Fandom history
Beatles fans science
The screamers

Related Keywords:
1964 Beatlemania
Beatlemania United States
Beatlemania history
Beatlemania cause

Some databases relevant to this topic:

- Google Scholar
- PBS sixties database [http://www.pbs.org/opb/thesixties/index.html]
- Gilder Lehrman Database: Institute of American History [www.gilderlehrman.org]
- Google Newspapers [https://news.google.com/newspapers]
- JSTOR [http://www.jstor.org/]
** You can find other reliable databases through the school library or through a Google search**
Things to keep in mind about trusting databases and sources:
- Look for databases that specialize in your topic [history, psychology, etc.]
- Search multiple databases to compare results and information
- Look for databases that specialize in the type of material you are looking for
[magazine articles, books, statistical data, images, audio, video, etc.]