IR3Identify+The+Right+Keywords



=**Internet Research 3: Identifying the Right Keywords**=


 * Aim:** How do we identify the right keywords when we are performing a search on the Internet?


 * Objectives:**


 * Students will learn to develop a topic sentence
 * Students will learn to select keywords
 * Students will learn to find related terms


 * Vocabulary:**


 * stop words
 * keyword generators
 * search query
 * search results


 * Follow these guidelines to create a list of keywords:**


 * **Write a sentence or two that summarizes your research topic** Let's say, for example, you want to find information on "alternative energy."


 * **Study the research topic and pull out potential keywords** The potential keywords are //alternative// and //energy//. **Search engines** do not index what are known as **stop words.** **Stop words** are articles (a, an, the), conjunctions and prepositions (and, or, but, in, of, for, on, into, from, than, at, to), adjectives and adverbs (as, also, probably, however, very), and pronouns and verbs (this, that, these, those, is, be, see, do). By leaving out **stop words**, you are able to translate your **search query** into something a **search engine** can understand. You want to extract the most important **keywords** because these are the words you want to appear in your **search results.**


 * **If necessary, define the keywords and find general background information on your topic** To learn more about your topic, you can look in a general encyclopedia to find additional keywords you can use that might be useful for your Internet search. Other **keywords** for //alternative energy// might be //solar energy//, //wind energy//, as well as other types of alternative energy such as //water//, //biomass//, and //geothermal//.


 * **Identify related terms using keyword generators** **Keyword generators** are used by Web site designers to identify **keywords** that a searcher might use to find their Web site. They include synonyms, plurals, misspellings, and other grammatical inflections. An example of a **keyword generator** is Google AdWords Keyword Tool and Keyword Generator and Übersuggest . This can be a useful tool because it indicates the keywords people are using to find what they are looking for.


 * Class Activity 1:**

1. Follow the guidelines above to create a list of keywords. Write a sentence on a topic you are interested in. For example, "I want to find information on alternative energy."

2. Underline the keywords in the sentence. "I want to find information on __alternative__ __energy__."

3. Go to Grolier Online


 * username:** novel764
 * password:** novel

and pick a topic you are interested in. Read the article.

4. Identify the **keywords** you found in the article and write a sentence on what you want to find on the Web. Underline the **keywords** in the sentence. Identify the **stop words** in the sentence.

5. Go to Übersuggest, and type your keywords into their **keyword generator**. What are some of the words suggested by //Übersuggest//?