Search Engines, Keywords, and MESH Term
Reddy & Ambigga (2020) states that the main reason for submitting a manuscript or an article is to develop the awareness and sensitization of the target audience, fellow researchers, and the wider health community about an issue or topic. Most researchers, when writing their articles, always do searches in different journals. A manuscript that has the correct keywords, then it can be easily identified and cited by fellow researchers. Keywords help in the determination of the right article to search for, and mostly they are author’s afterthought.
To identify the keywords of my manuscript, I will consider the following. The focus will be put on the title or topic of the study. The keywords to be selected must be related and, most importantly, derived from the topic of research for purposes of relevancy. The key words must not be very short or very long and should be related to the area of study. Identification of keywords will involve focusing on the interventions or methodology of the study. The keywords can easily be identified from the specific interventions or instruments used in the study, for example, emotional uplifting and assurance. The keywords should not overlap, and to make it consistent, some of the keywords written must also be contained in the topic or title. The other way is to follow the guidelines of the journal (Vitse & Poland, 2017). The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing (OJIN), doesn’t provide a clear guideline on the identification of the keywords. The journal states that there should be about 10 to 20 words identified and organized in order of importance. The keywords will allow the manuscript to be identified in various database search engines. The abstract also plays a role in the identification of the MESH terms and keywords. Some of the keywords and the terms will be derived from the abstract, interventions, and title of the study, as in Shoja, Walker & Carmichael (2019). Guidelines form the journal chosen states that only keywords should be identified.
References
Reddy, S. C., & Ambigga, K. (2020). ABC’s of Publishing a Scientific Paper in a Journal for the Novice Researchers. Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research, 80-88.
Shoja, M. M., Walker, T. P., & Carmichael, S. W. (2019). How to Find a Suitable Journal for Your Manuscript. A Guide to the Scientific Career: Virtues, Communication, Research and Academic Writing, 389-402.
Vitse, C. L., & Poland, G. A. (2017). Writing a scientific paper—A brief guide for new investigators. Vaccine, 35(5), 722-728.