The first and most important step in the research process is to identify the key concepts of your topic.
From these key concepts you will generate the keywords needed to search the library's catalog and article databases.
The box below explains how to identify key concepts.
Identifying key concepts means determining which words in a research topic will be best when searching for information sources.
Let's look at a research topic and determine the key concepts to use (and also the words you won't use) when searching:
Topic: I am interested in finding out how electrical stimulation can help improve overall athlete performance.
Key Concepts: "electrical stimulation" "athlete" "performance"
What words were left out and why: "Improve" "Help" "Overall" -- If a study has been conducted on the links between athlete performance and e-stim, then a scholarly research study will discuss the outcomes of the experiment, whether the outcomes are negative or positive. The key concepts of the topic above deal primarily with e-stim and athletes, so use those concepts as keywords to help you get started.