Finding scientific information: Search terms

Keywords should consider: alternative expressions, different spellings and abbreviations, American and British English differences, inflections, and broader or narrower concepts.

Search terms


Publications are searched in databases using search terms, which describe the topic. A broad selection of search terms yields more comprehensive results, so it is beneficial to actively seek and use them in information retrieval. 

Broad selection of search terms is important

  • The same concept can be expressed using various words.
  • The topic may encompass a wide range of vocabulary that should be included in the search.
  • This is especially important in title-specific searches (read more about title-specific searching)

The database does not automatically search for 

  • synonyms, narrower or broader concepts
  • a search term used as the latter part of a compound word, e.g., the term ‘game’ will not find the word ‘videogame‘.

The database only searches for the exact word entered in the search box.

  • Use a truncation symbol to search for inflected forms, derivatives, and the initial parts of compound words.

Common search terms include:

  • Key scientific terms related to the topic
  • Everyday concrete words
  • Synonyms, equivalents in different languages, various spellings
  • Parallel, broader, and narrower terms.

Search terms can be

  • Individual words or
  • Phrases consisting of two or more words that have an established meaning, e.g., social media.

Avoid using general terms like effects or attitudes as search terms, as they have many synonyms and variations.

Notice that a single word can have multiple meanings, e.g., play = to play with toys, to perform, to engage in a game or sport. 

 

Finding search terms

To familiarize yourself with the concepts and terminology of the research area, you can use:

  • Publications related to the topic: Journals and books provide not only terminology but also various spellings and expressions.
  • Reference works and handbooks: These contain comprehensive articles that offer a solid foundational understanding of the subject area.
  • Dictionaries and thesauri: These may include foreign language equivalents of terms.
  • Titles, abstracts, and keywords from publications in database search results, such as Scopus Keyword-tool
  • The internet and artificial intelligence.

Additionally, the following tools are helpful across most scientific disciplines:

With the "Keyword"-tool in Scopus you can view the subject terms given to documents in your list of references. In the example above,  new search terms have been discovered about the environmental effects of plastic waste. Source: Scopus <www.scopus.com> 18.6.2018