First Year Students' Guide to UW Libraries

What is a keyword?

• A keyword is an informative word used to describe the content of a document.
• For example, keywords are words/phrases you can put into a search bar that will pull up books, articles, and other library resources with content relevant to the entered word/phrase.

You can start by using key words related to the subject and/or category.

• Engineering subject examples: Chemical Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering

Next, try using 2-3 keywords to describe your topic.

• Examples: nuclear energy, vortex dynamics

Please refer to library reference materials (books, online encyclopedias, etc.) for additional information, or contact a librarian at coeref@uwyo.edu for further assistance with keywords and keyword searching in the library system.

UW Libraries generate helpful lists of all the different databases we subscribe to organized by subject. Check out our full A-Z Database listing here. Below you will find links to some of the helpful subject listings for Engineering subjects.