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Libraries Indiana University Bloomington

ANTH E445 Seminar in Medical Anthropology

Course guide for Sarah Phillips' Spring 2025 Seminar in Medical Anthropology

From Topic to Keywords

Databases do not know how to answer questions. Instead, they look for matches between the search terms the user enters and the records in the database. For effective searching, you must turn your research question into a set of two or three concepts.

From Topics to Keywords

1. Major concepts

Identify major concepts of your topic. Two or three concepts is usually enough. The more terms you enter the fewer results you’ll get.

2. Related terms

List every synonym and related term for each of your concepts. Example:

Concept 1: Dogs

Concept 2: Music

Dogs

Puppies

Canines

Music

Song

Popular music

 

3. Use the Search Strategy Builder

Turn your question into a powerful search strategy!

Search Strategy Builder

Search Strategy Builder

The Search Strategy Builder is a tool designed to teach you how to create a search string using Boolean logic. While it is not a database and is not designed to input a search, you should be able to cut and paste the results into most databases’ search boxes.

Concept 1 and Concept 2 and Concept 3
Name your concepts here.
Search terms Search terms Search terms
List alternate terms for each concept.

These can be synonyms, or they can be specific examples of the concept.

Use single words, or "short phrases" in quotes

or

or

or

or

or

or

or

or

or

or

or

or

Now, cut and paste the results into the search box of a library database (or Google).
 
The Search Strategy Builder was developed by the University of Arizona Libraries and is used under a Creative Commons License.