HOW TO CHOOSE

The secret to making your research paper discoverable

What these slides will tell you

What are keywords?

Why do journals ask for keywords?

Why are keywords important in research?

How to choose the right keywords for your paper

Some tips to help you write good keywords for your paper

What are keywords?

• Keywords define the field, subfield, topic, main issue, etc., that are covered by the research paper.

• Most academic journals, search engines, and indexing & abstracting services classify papers using keywords.

• Choosing the right keywords will help you ensure that your paper is picked up by relevant search engines and indexing services.

DID YOU KNOW? Keywords make you paper searchable, thus helping other researchers find your paper when they are conducting a search on the same topic.

Why do journals ask for keywords?

• Most researchers read only a few journals regularly. Keywords point researchers to relevant papers, which may escape their attention during their regular reading.

• Sometimes, researchers may overlook certain research papers, because the titles of these papers may not indicate the relevance of the research.

• In such cases, keywords supplement the information given in the title and serve as additional pointers.

Why are keywords important in a research paper?

An accurate list of keywords will ensure correct indexing and help showcase your research to interested groups.

This in turn will increase the chances of your paper being cited.

DID YOU

KNOW?

How to choose the right keywords for your paper (1/3)

Read through your paper.

List down the terms/phrases that are used repeatedly in the text.

Ensure that this list includes all key terms/phrases and a few additional key phrases.

Include variants of a term/phrase (e.g., kidney and renal), drug names, procedures, etc.

Incorporate common abbreviations of terms (e.g., HIV).

How to choose the right keywords for your paper (2/3)

Refer to a common vocabulary/term list or indexing standard in your discipline — e.g., GeoRef, ERIC Thesaurus, PsycInfo, ChemWeb, BIOSIS Search Guide, etc.).

Ensure that the terms you have used match those used in these resources.

How to choose the right keywords for your paper (3/3)

Before submitting your paper to a journal… Type your keywords into a search engine and check if the search results match the subject of your paper.

This will help you determine whether the keywords in your research paper are appropriate for the topic of your article.

* Screenshot from American Psychological Association

Here’s what good keywords can do

1. Spinal cord

2. Vertebral column3. Backbone

Potential Keywords

Let’s assume that your paper is about spine disorders…

Editor

Ah! Now that’s what I call a great set of

keywords!

Reader

This paper was so easy to find! I wish all

authors used such relevant

keywords.

Author

WOW! So many

citations!

Keyword writing tips (1/2)

Geographical regions If the paper focuses on a particular region (geographic, climatic, etc.), use that as a keyword (e.g., semi-arid tropics, the polar region, coniferous forests).

Experimental methodsThe experimental material and techniques may suggest suitable keywords (e.g., HPLC, alkaloids, x-ray crystallography, animal dung).

TIPS

Keyword writing tips (2/2)

Potential applicationsCheck whether potential applications can serve as keywords (e.g., organic farming, treatment of cancer, long-term preservation, energy efficiency).

Phenomena/IssuesUse specific phenomena or issues as keywords (e.g., climate change, air pollution, sustainable development, genetic engineering).

TitleDo not use words or phrases from the title as keywords.

TIPS

Sources

• How to create keywords for a research paper http://www.editage.com/insights/how-to-create-keywords-for-a-research-paper

• How to write an effective title and abstract and choose appropriate keywords http://www.editage.com/insights/how-to-write-an-effective-title-and-abstract-and-choose-appropriate-keywords

• Why do journals ask for keywords?http://www.editage.com/insights/why-do-journals-ask-for-keywords

• What is the importance of keywords in a research paper? http://www.editage.com/insights/what-is-the-importance-of-keywords-in-a-research-paper

• How to write an effective title and abstract and choose appropriate keywordshttp://www.editage.com/insights/how-to-write-an-effective-title-and-abstract-and-choose-appropriate-keywords

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