As a researcher, it is not enough to just write your research paper if you hope to maximise its discoverability and visibility. Most research is published online as open access, and discovery is further driven by Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) strategies that help improve the reach of your paper. One of these strategies is keyword selection. As an author, choosing the right keywords can significantly improve your research’s discoverability and thus accelerate engagement with it.

In this article, we will explain what keywords are and why they matter, how databases use them, and how to choose the right keywords for your research paper.

What are keywords and why do they matter?

In a research paper, keywords are essential terms or concepts that embody the main topics, ideas, or research scope of a study. For example, a keyword such as ‘circular economy’ shows that the research paper is concerned with sustainability and the elimination of waste within society. Research paper keywords are found either below the abstract of a paper or in the main body of the paper.

Research paper keywords are important for two reasons. One, they indicate what a research paper is about. And two, they help drive traffic to the landing page where the paper is hosted. This driving of traffic is achieved by a process called Search Engine Optimisation, commonly known as SEO. This refers to a collection of strategies that improves a website’s presence and visibility on a search engine’s results page (SERP). Keyword selection is one key SEO strategy, helping increase the long-term visibility and citation impact of research by making it more discoverable in search engines and academic databases.

How databases use keywords

Databases are organised collections of scholarly articles from different journals and publishers. Examples of recognised academic databases include Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar.

When articles are added to a database, they are indexed with keywords that enable others to find the articles. Research paper keywords can either be author-supplied (keywords present in the abstract section) and those derived from full-text indexing carried out by databases. In effect, research paper keywords act as tags that enable databases to filter through thousands of articles in order to show the ones most relevant to the search query used.

Some medical-adjacent databases like PubMed and MEDLINE use what are known as controlled vocabularies, such as Medical Subject Headings, commonly known as MeSH terms. These are standardised sets of words and phrases that provide a consistent way of finding articles covering a specific topic, regardless of the keyword synonyms or abbreviations authors may have used.

Choosing the right keywords for your research paper

This brings us to choosing the right keywords for your research paper. There are a few rules you should follow, so keep these in mind before you submit your paper.

Be specific but comprehensive

First thing to remember is to choose keywords that are specific to your article. Extract relevant terms from your abstract; your keywords should reflect what your research paper addresses and any relevant subdisciplines. Do not extract too many words from your title, since these are already indexed. Instead, use unique or adjacent keywords to expand the search terms related to your research paper.

Avoid general terms like ‘medicine’ or ‘engineering’ but be open to using slightly broader terms if they align with search trends.  Many disciplines have specific keyword lists or controlled vocabularies, like MeSH. These basically give authors more direction when it comes to aligning keywords with standardised categories to improve retrievability.

Use synonyms and abbreviations

Another good tip is to use synonyms and abbreviations of popular search terms. This can help you reach people who are interested in the topics or methodologies your research paper is addressing but who may be searching for relevant research using different terms.

Number of keywords

For the most part, we recommend choosing three to ten pertinent keywords. Make sure that this selection covers a good range of topics, subdisciplines, or methodological terms. As a result, you will be able to achieve a broader keyword spread.

Use tools

Finally, do not forget to use tools like Google Keyword Planner and information from academic databases and journals to help you choose your keywords. These tools can provide greater insight into keywords trends and established search terms in your field.

Dos and don’ts: quick-reference box

In summary, here are some dos and don’ts when it comes to choosing keywords for your research paper.

Dos	Don’ts
Choose article-specific keywords	Prioritise general or broad terms
Use synonyms and abbreviations	Use too many words already in the title
Choose 3–10 pertinent keywords	Overoptimise with too many keywords
Use keyword planning tools	Guess the popularity of keywords
Align keywords with controlled vocabularies like MeSH	Assume which keywords are standardised

Struggling with terminology?

Choosing the right keywords for your research paper requires you to know the specialist terminology of your field intimately. However, many authors struggle with using the right terminology in their paper. This is where professional editing services can help.

At MDPI Author Services, we specialise in helping researchers prepare their manuscripts for publication. Our Academic Editing Service provides subject-specific expertise and in-depth technical refinement during the manuscript preparation phase, helping to improve the scientific content and structure of the paper as the author is guided from pre- to post-publication. This service includes a review of your paper’s terminology. Click here for a free quote.

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