Let's pretend your professor has given you the following instructions:
Parents and many educators are concerned about how much time children are spending in front of a television screen playing video games. They are concerned about the negative effects of video games. For this paper you are to conduct research using the library’s online databases. Take a stance on this issue and write an argument either for or against letting children play video games. Make sure to use at least four references.
Now we will analyze these instructions. What keyword or search terms can you identify from the assignment instructions? Immediately, we can identify the following terms (in bold):
Parents and many educators are concerned about how much time CHILDRENare spending in front of a television screen playing VIDEO GAMES. They are concerned about the negative EFFECTS OF VIDEO GAMES. For this paper you are to conduct research using the library's online databases. Take a stance on this issue and write an argument either for or against letting children play video games. Make sure to use at least four references.
Now we have three keywords/key-phrases:
- children
- video games
- effects of video games
These keywords can be re-arranged into two research topics:
- video games and children
- effects of video games in children
These might be a good start, but limiting yourself to three search terms or two research topics might not turn up the articles you’re hoping for.
