Keywords are absolutely critical when it comes to conducting successful searches, so it is best to think carefully about what you're going to type into the catalogue or database search box before you start.
Firstly, your assignment question or essay title will contain some stand out words and phrases that you should use as the basis of your initial searches. You should also read your assignment brief carefully and consult wider course materials on Canvas to see what other terminology your lecturers may have used.
It is important that you don't limit yourself to just a handful of words. Try to have a pool of different terms that you can mix and match to get at all the available material. Just because one author refers to something one way doesn't mean that a different author doesn't call it something else.
Always try to think of synonyms or related terminology that you can also add into your pool of words. The 'Advanced Search' on most subject databases will automatically show keyword suggestions as you type; these may be helpful. Additionally, many academic articles will include a list of keywords in the abstract/summary which could expand your list of terms. For examples of both of these, see the images below.
Secondly, not all of your keywords have to relate to the topic you're researching. You can also use keywords to target the type of information you need, or the location you're interested in.
For example, Health students are often required to find primary research articles, in which case using keywords specifically related to research can really help. 'Research' itself is a great word to include but you could consider 'study', 'trial' or 'report' as well. Words related to methodologies or data collection, such as 'quantitative', 'qualitative', 'interview', 'questionnaire', "focus group" can be helpful.
If you need information from a certain location or country, adding in the place/region/country name as a keyword can be a very effective means of homing in on what you need - again you could choose related words to cover a range of possibilities e.g. Wolverhampton OR Black Country OR West Midlands / UK OR United Kingdom OR Britain OR England or Wales or Scotland.
Example of search suggestions on the Cinahl database when you start to type 'UK':
Example of an academic journal article with keywords listed at the bottom of the article abstract:
