Now it's time to use your list of keywords to search for relevant information.
If you are looking for academic journal articles, consider trying Boolean operators to combine your keywords and get better search results.
The basic Boolean operators are AND, OR, and NOT.
Watch the video on the right or read about Boolean searching below.
Research Question: What is the effect of parental involvement in homework on academic achievement among elementary school students?
1. Find the keywords/key terms in your research question.
What is the effect of parental involvement in homework on academic achievement among elementary school students?
2. Brainstorm synonyms/similar terms and group them together with OR
| Synonyms/Similar Terms | Boolean Searching with OR |
|
parental involvement, parental help, family help |
parental involvement OR parental help OR family help |
| achievement, success, grades | achievement OR success OR grades |
| elementary, primary school, children | elementary OR primary school OR children |
3. Enclose groups of similar terms in brackets ( )
(parental involvement OR parental help OR family help) (achievement OR success OR grades)
(elementary OR primary school OR children)
4. Combine keywords together with AND
(parent OR guardian OR adult) AND (achievement OR success OR grades)
AND (elementary OR primary school OR children)
5. Optionally, use NOT to weed out unwanted results
(parent OR guardian OR adult) AND (achievement OR success OR grades)
AND (elementary OR primary school OR children) NOT obesity