This can be in the form of a question or a sentence. Just think about what you want to research and write it down in one sentence.
Look at your research statement. What are the main words or concepts? They will likely be nouns, and can include phrases. Highlight them.
Look at the words/phrases you highlighted and think of synonyms or alternate phrases to describe those concepts. Scholarly articles often use words that we wouldn’t use in ordinary life.
Pick two or three words/phrases from your list. Put each concept in its own search box.
Try different combinations of words to get different results. Add more words to narrow down your results. Look at the “Subject” headings for each article to see what keywords are being used the most.