OMDE 601: Foundations of Distance Education & E-learning

How do I choose keywords for my searches?

• Words to include
  For a Distance Education research topic, you would want to include, at the very least, "distance education" and the concept you are researching (e.g. learning theories, media, instructional design)
• Use quotation marks
  If a word you are using is longer than one word, you can optimize your search by putting quotation marks around the words. Using quotation marks will ensure that the database finds results that use that exact phrase (e.g. "distance education", "learning theories", "instructional design")
• Use AND
  To search for more than one concept at the same time, you need to link your search terms with and. This strategy will narrow your search. 

Found too many results?

• Add more keywords
  If you find that you are retrieving too many results, try adding more keywords to further narrow your topic.

Found too few results?

• Use OR
  If you are not finding much information about a particular concept you can try broadening your search by using alternative terms for the concept and link them together with or (for example: "distance education" could also be called "online learning"). This strategy will broaden your search because it will return results that mention either "distance education" or "online learning"

Please review our database search basics guide as well for further tips and more in-depth information about search strategies.