My Information Skills

Self-paced tutorials on research and study skills for TAFE SA students

Analyse the topic: finding more keywords

More words with the same meaning will give you the ability to search for a wider range of relevant information for your assignment.

The Assignment

Discuss how global warming affects the environment. Describe how we can make our environment sustainable.

 

Use a dictionary or thesaurus to find more keywords that are:

  • synonyms (or words which mean much the same thing as the keyword "environment"; for example, "earth", "world")
  • related words (for example, "ecology").


When starting an assignment, you may find it helpful to start analysing your topic with a table like this that you can refer back to while researching:

Keyword 1 Keyword 2 Keyword 3
global warming environment sustainable
OR
greenhouse effect		 OR
ecosystem		 OR
renewable
OR
climate change		 OR
planet		 OR
enduring

In How do I find my information? we will look at how to use your keywords to develop an effective search strategy that will ensure you find the most relevant information for your assignment.