Topic Selection and Search Strategies

When beginning a search it is easy to retrieve too many results. In that case it is useful to consider narrowing the topic. As you develop a search strategy also consider using the database thesaurus associated with the database you are using. The thesaurus will:

Direct you to alternative language used to describe a concept.
Offer broader and narrow terms that may be useful in focusing or broadening a search.
Provide direction on the "official" terminology used to index the items in the database.
Offer related or "see also" terms that may be useful.

The sections below offer some possible options or ways one might narrow a topic by characteristics, setting, a specific discipline, or activity. These keywords are only suggestions, you may have additional words that will work in a search strategy.

Section I. Terms Describing Groups or Characteristics
Section II. Activities or Action Terms
Section III. Terms describing places, locations, & organizations
Section IV. Terms describing disciplines or subject areas

Section I. Terms Describing Groups or Characteristics

Administrators Adolescents Adopted children Adult children Adult education Adults Aged Asians Assistants At risk students (high risk) Authors Blacks By sex, (male or female) Caregivers Children Christians Clergy Coaches College freshman College students Computer assisted Counselors Courts Deans Democrats Depressed Disabled Disadvantaged Divorced Drivers Dropouts	Early childhood education Elderly Elementary education Elementary school students Faculty Fathers Females Gifted Governing boards Graduate assistants Grand parents High school students Higher education Hindus Hispanics Infants International students Jewish Judges Kindergartners Males Married Middle school students Migrants Minority groups Mothers Muslims Nationalities (Korean, German, Chinese, Russian, Australian, etc.) Native Americans Neonates Nontraditional students	Nurses Parents Patients Personnel Police Political parties Presidents Primary education Principals Professors Psychotherapists Publishers Republicans School boards Secondary education Secretaries Specialists Step fathers Step mothers Students Substance abuse Superintendents Supervisors Teachers Therapists Toddlers Urban education Visually impaired White Women
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Section II. Activities or Action Terms

Activities Advising Advocacy Analysis Assessment Assignments Attitudes Behavior Case studies Cognition Cooperation Curriculum Development Design Diagnosis Discipline Discrimination Evaluation Facilitating Governance Harassment Impact Inclusion Influence	Innovation Involvement Learning Management Mainstreaming Materials Methods Models Motivation Needs Objectives Opinions Outcomes Participation Planning Policies Practices Prevention Processes Programs Prevention Processes	Programs Projects Recruitment Reduction Referral Reform Research Role Satisfaction Skills Strategies Surveys Teaching methods Techniques Testing Therapy Tracking Training Treatment Trends
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Section III. Terms describing places, locations, & organizations

Agencies Churches Cities Classrooms Colleges Companies Conferences Corporations Courts of law Day care centers Departments Elementary schools Foundations Ghettos	Government agencies High schools Homes Hospitals Jails Laboratories Libraries Malls Middle schools Museums Nonprofit organizations Offices Organizations Parochial schools Preschools	Prisons Private schools Public libraries Public schools Research centers Rural schools Slums Temples Think tanks Universities Urban areas World wide web
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Section IV. Terms describing disciplines or subject areas

Accounting American history American literature Anthropology Architecture Archives Art Art history Aviation Biology Business Business information systems Chemistry Children's Literature Communications Community health Comparative religion Computing Counseling Criminal justice Cultures Dance Design Drama	Early childhood education Economics Education Engineering English literature Finance Foreign languages Genealogy Geography Geometry Gerontology Health History Language arts Law Literacy Literature Marketing Mathematics Media Medicine Medieval studies Music education Music theory Nutrition	Nursing Occupational therapy Paper science Philosophy Physical education Physics Psychology Public administration Reading Religion Science Social studies Social work Sociology Speech pathology Spelling Suicide Theater Weight training Wellness Women's studies World history Writing
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