Keywords are the way you find articles. Have you ever been searching and had zero results? It's probably because the keywords you were using didn't match the way the article discusses your topic. For example, if you were to search for special education, but the article only said inclusion, using the keyword phrase "special education" would not find all the articles.
For this step, please complete lessons 1-5 from this tutorial at Auburn University.
Pro/Con Related Terms
When searching for your topic, you may, in fact, want articles that are purposely biased. That's okay as long as you recognize that those articles are biased. You may wish to modify your keywords using this list of Pro/Con synonyms. Be sure to choose your synonyms based on the issue itself. For example, if you are pro eliminating tenure, then you would want to use the negative connotations list to find terms like "barrier" that might help you make your argument.
| Words with Positive Connotations | Words with Negative Connotations |
|---|---|
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Related Terms
Brainstorming a list of related terms is important. For example, with tenure, a related term is job safety. Here is a chart of at least one related term for several topics:
| Topic | Related terms |
|---|---|
| homework | reinforcement |
| self contained | inclusion |
| inquiry-based | student-centered |
| all year | calendar year or academic year |
| teacher assistant | support |
| secondary schools | middle school or high school |
| start later | start time |
| better | advantages or disadvantages |
URL: https://library.brockport.edu/education/debate_module