A-level - AQA Extended Project: How to...: Identify keywords

 

Try using the tools on this page to help find a focus for your research and discover possible keywords to use as search terms when looking for relevant information.

Collaboratively creating sharable information literacy tutorials, 2011. Tutorials. [Online] CLIP: Cooperative Library Instruction Project Available at: http://clip-il.wetpaint.com/page/Tutorials [Accessed 20 January 2011].

Carrot² is an Open Source Search Results Clustering Engine. It can automatically organize small collections of search results, into thematic categories.  You can see these results either as a tree or you can click 'visualize' to see a diagram like the one shown here.  If, as in the example above, you were thinking of doing a project on the island of Pulau Ubin, you could search for Pulau Ubin and it will bring up a number of topics relating to the island, such as Chek Jawa, nature, granite and Pulau Tekong.  You can choose one of these topics to see those relevant results.  This may help you to find research topics for a subject you are interested in.

Spend time thinking about what you know about your topic. 

Write it down and then copy what you have written into http://www.wordle.net/. 

This will give you a cloud similar to the one below which will emphasise the keywords of your current knowledge.  This will give you an idea of the key areas you already have some knowledge of and may highlight a potential topic you would like to focus your research on.

This Wordle is created from a blog which discusses the authors' views on whether Apple or Microsoft currently has the upper hand in the market place.  From this Wordle you can see that the authors' discussion has concentrated on the political and legal aspects of the discussion so these may be the aspects of the subject which they are particularly interested in.

(Jaime, M., MacColl, S., Sharpe, C. & Weber, D., 2011. Capital Rivals: Apple vs. Microsoft – OpenSecrets Blog. [Online] Available at: http://indiglit.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/capital-rivals-apple-vs-microsoft-opensecrets-blog/ [Accessed 14 January 2011].)

Try using Roget's Thesaurus to help find keywords for your topic.

Onelook.com will check through over 1000 online dictionaries for you.