Broadening and Narrowing Vocabulary

Earlier we discussed broadening and narrowing a research question. Keywords can also be broadened or narrowed to find different types of sources. This chart suggests some alternative keywords for the following research question:

"Should Native Americans practice religious and social customs that violate local and Federal laws?"

Keyword(s)	Broader	Related	Narrower
Native Americans	Indigenous peoples, North American history	Indians, Amerinds, North American Indians	Makah, Nez Perce, Cherokee, Kwakiutl, etc.
Customs	Social systems, anthropology	Marriage, social relations, spirituality, rites and ceremonies, religion, culture	Lodge house(s), hunting, whaling, potlatch, etc.
Law	Criminal justice, U.S. Constitution, constitutional law	Legislation, crimes, treaty rights	Bureau of Indian Affairs, NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act), cases (e.g. Kennewick Man, Neah Bay whaling)

Broader terms. What broad disciplines or subjects may address your research question?

Related terms. Synonyms and other terms that describe issues or activities that relate to your key concepts.

Narrower terms. Specific examples of your key concepts. These might be cases, events, names, places, etc.

Topics Sections

1. Topics
2. Basic Pointers
3. Generating Questions
4. Broadening Questions
5. Narrowing Questions
6. Selecting Keywords
★ Vocabulary