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First Year Students' Guide to UW Libraries

Tips for Keyword Searches

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.

In generating keywords/search terms for your keyword searches:

  • Outdoor recreation:
    • Consider the specific type of recreation and use the terminology used by professionals in the field (Examples: downhill or cross-country skiing)
  • Environmental science:
    • Consider the subcategories within this field of study (Examples: public lands, sustainability, environmental stewardship)
  • Pro-Tips:
    • Do not use the acronym / abbreviation "ENR" (environment & natural resources). It is not specific enough to get good results. Use the entire term.
    • Add an asterisk ( * or shift-8 key) to act as a "wild card" when searching. For example, public land* will find both "public land" and "public lands." Or sustain*, which will locate sustain, sustainability, sustaining, etc. This will increase the number of search results.

General Databases

Often when looking at topics related to Outdoor & Environmental Sciences there are some amazing general databases that can be helpful places to start. Below you will find a couple that will have some relevant scientific articles.

Outdoor Recreation & Tourism Management Databases

Below are some helpful databases related to Outdoor Recreation & Tourism. To view all databases UW Libraries subscribes to related to this subject check out the Outdoor Recreation & Tourism Management databases list.

Reference & Background Information

Reference type books that are broad but cover the topic can be great places to go to generate keywords and ideas for research topics.