Use AI to think of keywords and bu­ild search strings

With generative AI you can get support for assignment ideas, brainstorm useful keywords and create a search that can be copied directly into a search system.

Below, we outline the steps to get started with AI in practice.

Imagine a fictional assignment. You need to write about remote work, but you are not yet sure which aspects you want to explore.

Prompt for assignment ideas

Describe:

• Who you are, for example a bachelor student
• How far you are in your studies, for example, 2nd semester
• The overall topic you want to work on, for example, remote work
• Ask your generative AI (ChatGPT, Copilot etc.) to suggest different directions

Here is an example of a prompt:

I am a bachelor student in my second semester and need to write a project in organisational theory. The assignment must be about remote work. What aspects or perspectives could be relevant? Create a list with 5 assignment ideas.

By using AI, you get a range of ideas to work with. One of the angles could be how remote work affects employee productivity.

Brainstorm keywords

Next, use AI to create a solid search using words that match your assignment. It is important to know that researchers use different terms for the same phenomenon, and that research is often written in English.

• AI can help you identify additional subject terms for your search.
• Go through the synonyms and check whether they are relevant for the assignment you are writing. 

Here is an example of a prompt:

Find synonyms in Danish and English for remote work. Then do the same for employee productivity.

Combine the keywords in a search string

Once you have reviewed the synonyms, you can ask your AI to combine them in a Boolean search.

Here is an example of a prompt:

Create a Boolean search string using AND and OR based on these search terms: remote work, telework, distance work, working from home, WFH, hybrid work, distance work AND employee productivity, work productivity, work performance, employee output, employee efficiency.

The search string will look like this

All English synonyms for remote work in one line, combined with OR, and all synonyms for employee productivity in another line, combined with OR. Between the two lines, there is an AND.

This means that all results in your search contain at least one word from each line.

Here is an example of a search string:

("remote work" OR "telework" OR "distance work" OR "working from home" OR "WFH" OR "hybrid work")
AND
("employee productivity" OR "work productivity" OR "work performance" OR "employee output" OR "employee efficiency")

Copy the search string suggested by your AI and paste it into Libsearch, the EBSCO databases, Google Scholar or another online resource with articles.
 

What would you like to do next?

See what the search looks like in Libsearch?
See what the search looks like in the EBSCO-bases?
See what the search looks like in Google Scholar?
Do you want help with your keywords?