A concept map worksheet to help construct a search from a research topic. Handout for Empire State College @Home: Introduction to Searching Online Workshop.

1. Create a Search
Research Question or Topic: ______________________________________________________________________
Key words from your topic (hint: nouns from research question above): ____________ ______________ ______________
Synonyms / alternate terms or spellings? ______________ _________________ __________________ ______________
Use one of the charts below to create a search using the keywords/terms you identified above:
Search Creation Chart 1 (combine different keywords using AND):
and and
Search Creation Chart 2 (combine synonyms with OR; group synonyms with parentheses):
( or ) and ( or )
Note: only use parentheses around two+ synonyms when combining them with other keywords using AND.
Hints:
AND to combine different concepts (elderly and depression)
OR to combine synonyms or words with similar meanings (education or learning or pedagogy)
Double quotes around phrases of 2+ words ("United States")
Use dictionaries, thesauri & specialized encyclopedias to expand your list of keywords
Searching is not an exact science; try different searches and see what works
Example:
Topic: What is the impact of global warming on polar bears?
Main concepts: global warming, polar bears
Possible synonyms/alt terms: climate change, Ursus maritimus
Concept map 1: "global warming" and "polar bear" and habitat
Concept map 2: ("global warming" or "climate change") and ("polar bear" or "Ursus maritimus")