Make your research discoverable

Titles, keywords and abstracts

See how you can use titles, keywords and abstracts effectively.

Titles

Be descriptive and specific: use clear and concise language to describe the main topic and findings of your research.
Include key terms: incorporate important keywords that potential readers might use when searching for this topic.
Avoid jargon and cryptic language: use terms that are widely understood within your field to ensure broader accessibility.

Keywords

Identify core concepts: choose keywords that represent the main themes and findings of your research.
Use synonyms and related terms: think about different ways your topic might be described and include those variations.
Check popular keywords: look at similar articles to see which keywords are frequently used.
Consider controlled vocabularies: check the thesaurus or subject headings on subject-focused databases.

Abstracts

Summarise key points: provide a brief overview of your research question, methods, results, and conclusions. Include your keywords.
Highlight significance: explain why your research is important and what contributions it makes to the field.
Keep it concise: aim for clarity and brevity, ensuring that the abstract is easy to read and understand.

Additional tips

Be consistent: make sure that the terms you use in your title, keywords, and abstract are consistent throughout your article.
Follow journal guidelines: check the requirements of the journal or repository where you are submitting your article.
Regularly update your profile: Keep your researcher profiles up to date with your latest research and keywords.

Using (SDG) keywords in your publications’ titles, abstracts and author keywords highlights your research in these areas.

Mapping to SDGs can increase your visibility and citation rates and contribute to Massey’s SDG impact ranking.

These sources provide ideas for SDG keywords:

. Used for the Times Higher Education (THE) . Tip: download an SDG description then open to see a word cloud, searchable SDG keywords and more.
. Builds on the UN and THE processes.
. Maps Massey-authored documents to SDGs (staff login required).
. Maps documents to SDGs under the impact tab of author profiles.

Scopus author profiles map documents to SDGs

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