Writing 100 (Spring 2025, Pravin)

What are Keywords?

Keywords are the words you use to tell the database what to find. For example, if you want to find information about artificial intelligence and medicine, you would enter these words into the database:

"artificial intelligence" AND medicine

You might also look for other keywords that are more tailored to what you are interested in. With the example above, for instance, you might say something like:

"robot surgery" AND "fda approval"

It is a good idea to try both BROAD and NARROW keywords to see which ones give you better results.

Keyword Examples

These are potential keywords for a search about artificial intelligence.

• artificial intelligence
• expert systems
• knowledge engineering
• machine learning

Your research question for this topic likely includes one or more concepts in addition to artificial intelligence. Here are some possible themes.

• banking, finance, stock markets
• social media, social networking
• the name of a particular profession: teaching, law, medicine (nursing, pharmacy, etc.)

You want to be as specific as possible but also keep your search open enough that you can find good results. Ideally you will start with 3-4 keywords for a manageable research question for Writing 100.