The concept map then allows you to think about the important ideas you want to retain for your research. For each of your concepts, find keywords, synonyms or related terms. Antonyms or opposite terms can also be used, e.g. (health OR disease).
If necessary, consult the library's encyclopedias and manuals to familiarize yourself with your subject.
In the previous step, Define your information requirements, you formulated a question specifying your information needs. Draw out the important concepts and arrange them in a table, then add your keywords where appropriate.
One concept = one column.
Avoid using words like ''effect'', ''cause'', ''consequence'', ''trend'', etc. These are empty terms for a search.
You should have an average of 3 concepts, any more than 5 and you risk losing relevant information.
| Concept A | Concept B | Concept C |
| synonym | synonym | synonym |
| synonym | synonym | synonym |
| related term | related term | related term |
An example drawn from UdeM's Infosphère : conditions for integrating young people into the job market: the situation in Quebec
| young people | integrating | job market | Québec |
| graduates | integrate | career | Quebec |
| young adults | entry | employment | |
| youth | insertion | job |
Make a copy of the plan to adapt it to each database or search engine used. :
Maintain flexibility when searching.
Depending on the database you are using, don't forget to think about the French terms as well!
| young people | integrating | job market | Québec |
| diplômés | insertion | carrière | québécois |
| jeunes adultes | emploi | ||
| jeunesse |
Also consider the limits of your search: chronological, geographical, linguistic, document type, etc.
