Q. How do you know which keywords are best to search for a given topic?

A combination of experience and trying stuff out. When you've done a lot of searching in your life, you can start to get a feel for which words will be fruitful and which won't. But even the most seasoned professional can't know for sure ahead of time. All you can do is think of as many synonyms as possible, and then see what kind of results you get with them. Bad results=try something else.

This is we call "search strategy":

1) Write down your research question

2) Circle the keywords that encapsulate your topic (little words like "of" don't count)

3) Write down as many synonyms for the keywords as you can think of (feel free to consult thesauri, encyclopedias, and Google for help)

4) Try using different combinations of all the words you came up with until you find what you're looking for

For more help, try our Guide to the Research Process!