Strategies for Selecting Keywords for Article Submission

Choosing the right keywords when submitting your article to a journal may seem like a small detail, but it can greatly affect how easily your work is discovered, indexed, and cited. Keywords help databases and search engines connect your paper with relevant readers, so poor keyword selection can reduce your paper’s visibility—even if the research itself is strong. Below we outline practical strategies for selecting effective keywords that align with both your research and the expectations of journals and search engines.

Understand the Purpose of Keywords
Keywords serve two main purposes. First, they help journal editors and reviewers quickly understand the focus of your paper. Second, they improve discoverability by signaling the topic of your work to search engines and indexing services like PubMed, Scopus, or Google Scholar. Keywords should, therefore, reflect the most essential concepts of your research while aligning with commonly used terms in your field.

Start with Your Research Questions and Main Concepts
Begin the keyword selection process by identifying the core themes of your paper. What questions are you trying to answer? What variables or phenomena are you exploring? Your title, abstract, and introduction will often contain the best clues. Extract the most specific and important nouns and noun phrases—for example, instead of “teaching,” use “STEM in higher education” if that more accurately reflects your study.

Use Controlled Vocabularies Where Possible
In some fields, especially in health sciences and social sciences, databases use standardized vocabularies. For example, the U.S. National Library of Medicine maintains MeSH (Medical Subject Headings), a controlled vocabulary used by PubMed. Using these standardized terms ensures that your article is indexed under a consistent set of topics and can increase your visibility in academic searches. You can browse the MeSH database or use tools like MeSH on Demand to match your abstract with relevant terms.

Think Like Your Target Audience
Put yourself in the shoes of someone searching for literature on your topic. What terms would they enter into a search engine? Consider synonyms, acronyms, and alternative phrasings. For instance, someone searching for research on “heart attack” might also use “myocardial infarction.” Including both terms, if appropriate, increases the chance that your paper will appear in search results.

You can also test this by entering your initial keyword choices into Google Scholar or similar search engine. See what kinds of articles appear. If the results do not match the topic of your paper, revise the terms until they better reflect what your target audience is likely to find useful.

Balance Specificity and Breadth
Highly specific terms will make your article visible to a more relevant audience, whereas broader terms will increase reach but may attract less targeted readers. A good strategy is to mix both. Aim for 4–6 keywords, unless the journal specifies otherwise, and avoid duplicating words from your title—they are already indexed.

Follow the Journal’s Guidelines Carefully
Many journals provide keyword submission instructions, including limits on number, formatting style (e.g., singular vs. plural nouns), or whether terms must be chosen from a specific list. Always check the Instructions for Authors page

Effective keyword selection is both a science and an art. By focusing on the main themes of your research, using standardized vocabulary where appropriate, thinking like your target audience, and following journal guidelines, you can substantially boost the visibility of your paper. In a competitive publishing environment, well-chosen keywords can be the bridge between your research and the audience that needs it most.