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Selecting a Research Topic

Make a list of keywords

Keep track of the words that are used to describe your topic. 

  • Look for words that best describe your topic.
  • Look for descriptive words in the encyclopedia articles and other reading you do while selecting your topic.
  • Find synonyms and broader and narrower terms for each keyword in order to expand your search capabilities.
  • Keep a list of these words to use as keywords later as you search in catalogs and other online databases.