There is often more than one way to say something. You can say you are happy, or ecstatic or joyful. These words all mean basically the same thing.
Before you start your research, you should look over your keywords and decide whether they have synonyms that you should also be on the lookout for. You might miss some important information if you don't.
For example, let's find synonyms for some of the keywords in the following research question:
| What are the effects of stress on college students? | |
| Keywords | Synonyms |
|---|---|
| effects | impact, results |
| stress | mental or emotional strain |
| college | university, higher education |
Related Concepts
Your keywords may also be closely related to other concepts. For example:
| Keyword | Related Concepts |
|---|---|
| stress | anxiety |
| depression |
Information on depression or anxiety might be helpful to your research on stress and college students. But if you search only on the term stress, you might miss this related information. Identifying synonyms and related concepts can help you broaden your search and is an important element of developing your research strategy.
