Search Composition: Choosing Search Terms

The Internet can be a very powerful tool: with the vast amount of information that is published on the Web, chances are high that there is web site, web page, or message board out there, somewhere, on just about any topic that you'd like to know more about. However, finding the right information on the web, especially for a student research project, can often be a time-consuming and frustrating process. After spending the time to conduct several web-searches, including navigating to and reading through results for each search, you may still not have found an answer to your question or a site that provides credible, reliable information that you can use for research purposes.

Fortunately, there are several techniques that you can use to help you harness the power of the Internet. The first step in finding what you are looking for is knowing how to construct search phrases that will bring you closer to the information that you seek.

Before you start your search, take the time to think about these key points:

  1. Identify Main Concepts

    Try to determine the key concepts or terms that you will be searching for. These should be specific, and are often nouns (as opposed to adjectives or verbs) and details such as a specific time or place. For example, if you were assigned to do a report about one of the dynasties in China, you might search for:



  2. Use Flexible Searching Techniques

    When you search the Internet, keep in mind that there is no "perfect phrase" that is going to return all of the best results. You will probably want to try several different searches using different or varied search terms. Here are some things to think about when you are refining your search:

    1. Are you being specific enough?

      Try to use search words that are likely to occur in the results that you would like to get, but that wouldn't occur in unrelated information. If you're not specific enough, you will get many unrelated results and will have to wade through them to find anything of relevance. For example, if you are looking for information on Golden Retrievers but just search on "dog", you will get many results that do not contain information about Golden Retrievers. Here are some examples of non-specific search phrases and how they could be improved:

      Original search: 
      Change to:       

      Original search: 
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      Original search: 
      Change to:       

    2. Are you being too specific?

      Longer phrases (search terms that are contained within quotes) are less likely to be found. Here are some examples of search phrases that are too specific, with some suggestions for how they could be improved:

      Original search: 
      Change to:       

      Original search: 
      Change to:       

      Original search: 
      Change to:       

    3. Refine your search:

      Think of how the search terms you are using could be improved if you made them either more specific or more general. Alternately, think of synonyms that could be more descriptive and effective as search terms.

      For example, let's say that you originally searched on



      You could modify your search by using words or phrases that are narrower, or more specific. For example, you might really be searching for specific phrases or ideas from the Fifth Amendment text:







      Or, you could modify your search by using words or phrases that are broader, or more general. For example:






Before you dive into a search that leads you all across the web, take a deep breath and think about what you are really looking for. Using these simple search techniques will help you to find what you need, and find it more quickly.

Up Next: Searching with Quotes