LibGuides: SSC 465: How to create a search

Subject heading vs Keywords

Subject Headings	Official terms or controlled vocabulary designated by a body of authority (such as the National Library of Medicine's Medical Subject Headings, or MeSH). These are based on a hierarchy of terminology to help organize vast amounts of information within a discipline (MeSH) or just in general (Dewey or Library of Congress).
Keywords	Words or terms you come up with, whether they are casual, layperson terms (like 'flu' instead of influenza); or clinical or scientific terms. You naturally use keywords in Google, Amazon, etc.

How to Use:

Subject headings are ways to organize and find information on a topic. When you search you may struggle to find the best word to use - subject headings take out the guess work. Think of it as the difference between searching for "stroller" versus "Baby Jogger City Mini GT". In the medical world, subject headings can keep you from juggling all the various ways professionals refer to a problem or intervention. Academic databases give more weight to a subject heading.

Keywords are very useful for fine-tuning those subject headings. In the stroller scenario, you could add the color or accessory to your search. An example search using a combination of subject headings and keywords:

"Baby Jogger Citi Mini GT" AND yellow

In searching, more does not mean better. Use advanced search options and Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to save time and bring the best results to the top. Use keywords and subject terms, not sentences, and follow some of these tips & tricks below.

Search tips

Keywords not working?	Find synonyms (eg. thesaurus.com) Look at subject headings for relevant articles/abstracts Search Google or Wikipedia for inspiration
Too many results you can't use?	Use Boolean operator AND - combine ideas and limit results Suicide AND Adolescents Suicide AND Adolescents AND Prevention
Not enough results?	Use Boolean operator OR - broadens search Teenager OR youth OR adolescent Mick Jagger OR Rolling Stones theater OR theatre
Getting the wrong results?	Use Boolean operator NOT (or - sign in Google) - removes word from search Apple NOT fruit (-fruit) JAVA NOT coffee (-coffee)
Looking for a phrase?	Add "quotation marks" - searches for words in sequence “Martin Luther King Jr” “bilateral rib fracture”
Word have too many variations?	Wildcard * - looks for all endings Educat* looks for: Educator Educators Education Educational

Additional resources

Additional Resources

Other helpful sites for distinguishing between different types of research:

Understanding Research Study Designs - University of Minnesota
Types of Study Designs and Terminology - Georgia State University
Nursing Resources: Types of Studies - University of Wisconsin
EBP: Step-by-Step - American Journal of Nursing

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