To perform searches, you will need keywords.
Let's practice brainstorming keywords by looking at a sample topic...
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How do survivors of stressful events regulate intrusive thoughts?
First we'll eliminate irrelevant words. The databases will search for every word that you type into the searchbox, so try to keep your search simple - just a few words.
How do survivors of stressful events regulate intrusive thoughts?
When you eliminate the irrelevant words from your research question, you should be able to spot major concepts. The 2 major concepts in our example are stressful events and intrusive thoughts.
Now, let's take each of those and come up with as many synonyms (or related ideas) as we can.
stressful events – stress, trauma, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, disasters, death, job loss
intrusive thoughts – automatic thoughts, self-talk