05/03 Conduct Research - Final

When you are searching for information on the Internet or looking for a book at the library, keywords can help you find what you are looking for. See how to use keywords below.

Keywords are words that help a person research a topic or find a book on a topic. For example, if you want to find a library book about pandas, but you do not know the author or title of the book, you would use keywords in your search. If you want to know where pandas live, you would use the keywords "pandas" and "home." If you want to know what they eat and how they find food, you would use "pandas," "food," "hunt," or other words like those.

One important thing to remember is to use keywords closest to your topic. It will make it easier for you to find what you are looking for. That is why, if you want a book on pandas, you use the keyword "panda" and not the words "animal" or "bear." If you searched for a book about pandas using "animal," you would get books about pandas, tigers, dolphins, and many other animals. It would take you a long time to find the right book about pandas!

When you do research, it is important to think about whether or not you have good sources. A reliable source is one in which the information is truthful and can be trusted. Reliable sources are also known as credible sources. When trying to figure out if a source is reliable or not, try asking yourself some questions about each source.

 If you wanted to learn about George Washington, a book or a research article would be a good source. Your local newspaper would probably not be a very good source for information about George Washington.

 It is important to find out how much the writer knows about a subject. If you were looking for information about monkeys, a book by a person who works with monkeys every day would be a good source.

Information can change quickly, especially in subjects like science and computers. A reliable Web site would be a good place to look if you wanted the latest information about a new computer.

If you wanted to learn about the history of your town, you might interview a person who grew up there. It is best to find eyewitnesses for a research interview.