BIOL 161: Intro Cell & Molecular Biology: Getting Started

Need help choosing a research topic?  Try reading about your topic to learn more, and then choose something about the topic you're interested in.  For science research, the following resources can give you basic information about your general topic:

Use these handouts to help you brainstorm your research topic:

Image by Wokandapix from Pixabay 

Here are some general tips to guide you in choosing your search terms:

- Use keywords or brief (2-word) phrases instead of sentences -- one or two for each part of your topic.

- Use nouns and verbs as your keywords.  Avoid most adjectives and adverbs.  Think of words that are likely to be used in titles (or that you have seen in titles).

- If your keywords aren't turning up many results, you may need to:

• Try thinking of synonyms or other ways of phrasing your topic. If you can find one or two relevant articles, check to see what subjects are listed for them and try to build keywords from there. 
   
• Try a broader search (broader topic, broader date-range, etc.)

• If you are able to find an article or book on your topic, the database may list keywords or subject terms relevant to your topic.  Use these words listed by the database, or in the article.
  • You can also read the title and abstract of the article to find relevant keywords.