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Library Information Literacy Workshop: Getting Started

How to Start Your Research

Using the library resources is an integral part of your research process. This page will show you how to develop keywords for searching various resources, as well as provide you with other tips for beginning your research. 

The Research Process

More Search Tips

Need more help with using keywords for research? This video will give you tips to searching for your research topic. 

Keyword Search

Once you have determined your research question, it is time to brainstorm keywords to use for your research!

If your research question is:

  • How do digital badges work in higher education?

Then your keywords could be: 

  • "higher education", college, university, post-secondary
  • "digital badges"

Can you think of any other keywords you could use to research this topic?

Keyword Combinations

You can use a variety of combinations of keywords to research your topic. Possible combinations to use when researching "How do digital badges work in higher education" are: 

  • “digital badges” AND “higher education”
  • “digital badges” AND university
  • “digital badges” AND colleges