Once you have defined your topic, you should then choose descriptive search terms known as keywords. Keywords are single terms or short phrases that best define the main points of your topic.

For instance, if you are researching the living conditions of tobacco farmers during the Great Depression, the keywords that describe your topic might be:

• living conditions
• tobacco
• farmers
• Great Depression

It is also useful to list other words and phrases that have similar meanings that may also be used to describe your topic, such as

• economic impact or social life
• farms or farming or agriculture
• thirties or 1930s

Tips

• Be aware of changes in vocabulary and word usage over time. For example, "Old Time" music has been referred to as "Hillbilly," "Mountaineer," and "Southern" at different points in time.
• Thesauri may be used to generate synonyms for keywords.
• While specific dates are usually not valid search terms, keywords indicating a decade, century, or historical era may be more effective. For example, you could use "Cold War," "fifties," "1950s", or "McCarthy era," rather than "1952."