Now that you have search terms, let's see how you can replace them for more scientific or medical terms to improve your search.
Table sugar can go by many different names. Biologists may call it sucrose while chemists may consider its chemical formula, C12H22O11, more important. Just like table sugar, many terms used in health sciences literature searching go by different names in medical research than everyday use.
Use the boxes below to practice this skill of finding more scientifc and medical terms for our high school football search. Try thinking of some answers on your own and then scroll down to reveal some better words for our search.
| Beginning Search Terms | Improved Replacement Terms |
| high school | teenage, adolescent |
| head injuries | brain concussion, head trauma |
| concussion | brain concussion |
| helmet | head protection |
If you are looking to find a relationship between terms, you don’t need to use words like “compare” “contrast” or “relationship” in the search. If you do, it implies that you already know the How and Why and that will bias your search.
If you're confused about researching, Ask A Librarian any time of day for help.
