Background Information & Keywords-2


Background Information

Doing some background research will help you think about what you are looking for before you start searching.  

  • What are the main issues?
  • What population is impacted?
  • Who are the people and organizations involved?

Databases for Background Information

Note:  Use your Cabrillo ID & password to access databases. 

Websites for Background Information


Keywords 

Your background research will help you identify keywords related to your social problem. Keywords help to focus your search. 

If you were researching the prison abolition movement, some keywords might be:

  • Prison, prisoners, prison system, incarceration
  • Race, racism, discrimination
  • Abolition, decarceration
  • Rehabilitation, restorative justice

Once you have identified relevant keywords, use these tricks to combine them for better search results.

To limit your results, use the AND

Boolean search with the keywords "incarceration" AND "racism"

To expand your results, use the OR

Boolean search with the keywords "prisons" OR "incarceration"

To search for an exact phrase, use "QUOTES"

Advanced search in OneSearch with the keywords "prisons" OR "incarceration" AND racism AND "prison abolition"