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Imagine you are researching how 'mindfulness meditation' reduces 'academic stress' in college students, but your initial database search using those exact keywords returns very few results. Applying the properties of database keywords, state two distinct modifications you should make to your search terms to locate additional relevant literature.
Question: Imagine you are researching how 'mindfulness meditation' reduces 'academic stress' in college students, but your initial database search using those exact keywords returns very few results. Applying the properties of database keywords, state two distinct modifications you should make to your search terms to locate additional relevant literature.
Sample answer: First, I would experiment with alternative word combinations or synonyms, such as replacing 'academic stress' with 'test anxiety' or 'school pressure'. Second, I would adjust the level of specificity of my terms, such as broadening 'college students' to 'young adults' or 'higher education students' to capture a wider range of indexed articles.
Key points:
- Suggests experimenting with alternative word combinations or synonyms for the variables.
- Suggests adjusting the level of specificity of the search terms (broadening or narrowing terms).
- Applies these modifications directly to the variables in the prompt (mindfulness, academic stress, college students).
Rubric: The response must propose two distinct, appropriate modifications to the search terms based on the scenario: one focusing on experimenting with different word combinations (synonyms) and one focusing on adjusting the level of specificity (broadening or narrowing terms).
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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