ENGLISH 110: VOCABULARY WORKSHEET



USING INFORMATION TOOLS: GENERATING KEYWORDS

The Ohio State University Libraries

Using information tools is a vital part of the research process. Information tools include but aren’t limited to library catalogs; library databases such as Academic Search Complete; and search engines on the Internet such as Google. Just as a sewing needle is different from a dress it creates, however, a database is different from the information it helps you find. The needle and the database are tools. On the other hand, the dress and the information both represent the results of your use of the tools; that is, information resources.

When you’re preparing to use information tools to find information resources for your research project spend some time brainstorming words or phrases that relate to your research idea. Words represent concepts. When you brainstorm, you’re analyzing the concepts inherent in your research idea. Best of all, you’ll have a supply of words and phrases at hand that you can use when the more obvious terms don’t work out. Putting a little time in at the beginning should pay dividends at the end.

The words and phrases can represent:

|TYPE OF WORD OR PHRASE |EXAMPLE |

|SYNONYMS (identical concepts) |advertisements / commercials |

|ANTONYMS (opposite concepts) |hope/despair |

|RELATED (but not identical) |hammer/nail |

|BROADER (( narrower) |card games ((Slapjack) |

|NARROWER (( broader) |Princess Belle ((Disney Princesses) |

|VARIANT FORMS OF THE SAME WORD |fame, famous, famously |

Note: If you’re having trouble brainstorming vocabulary, you can consult a dictionary () or a thesaurus (.)

Anne Fields, PhD

English Librarian and Interim Librarian for Linguistics

Thompson Library 155A

614-292-2762 (work)

fields.179@osu.edu

Updated 8/12/14

SAMPLE EXERCISE (ONE CONCEPT)

1. Write down a research idea (or a research “topic” or research “idea” – a broad research idea that you want to explore.

Research Idea-- [EXAMPLE]: the image of the ROTC student on campus

Analyze your research idea and break it down into the most important concepts, or components, contained in your idea. You must have at least 2 but no more than 3 concepts. (Concepts occasionally may be short phrases, but only if those phrases can’t be sub-divided into separate concepts. That is, the phrase “Vietnam veteran” would have to be two separate concepts—because the concept of the specific war is different from the concept of “veteran”. You will need to be ready to brainstorm each word separately. )

Concepts-- [EXAMPLES]: a) ROTC b) student c) university

2. Take each concept word (or phrase) and by brainstorming try to fill up as many columns as you can in its matching table. Note: You may not be able to think of entries for each column—just try your best.

Concept a:

|SYNONYMS |ANTONYMS |RELATED |BROADER TERMS |NARROWER TERMS |VARIANT FORMS (teach, |

|(same meaning) |(opposite meaning) |(but not synonyms) |card games (Slapjack) |Princess Belle (Disney |teaching, teacher, teachers) |

| | | | |Princesses) | |

|Reserve Officer Training Corps |Pacifist |Soldier |Armed Forces |Navy Reserves (etc) |Trained, train |

| |Draft resistance |Training | |Army | |

| | |War | |Marine | |

| | | | |Air Force | |

Now, you try.

Research idea:

Component concepts: a) b) c)

Concept a:

|SYNONYMS |ANTONYMS |RELATED (but not synonyms) |BROADER TERMS |NARROWER TERMS |VARIANT FORMS (e.g., teach, |

| | | | | |teaching, teacher, teachers) |

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Concept b:

|SYNONYMS |ANTONYMS |RELATED (but not synonyms) |BROADER TERMS |NARROWER TERMS |VARIANT FORMS (e.g., teach, |

| | | | | |teaching, teacher, teachers) |

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Concept c:

|SYNONYMS |ANTONYMS |RELATED (but not synonyms) |BROADER TERMS |NARROWER TERMS |VARIANT FORMS (e.g., teach, |

| | | | | |teaching, teacher, teachers) |

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