Identifying a Database's Subject Terms

One easy way to identify subject headings is to run a few keyword searches and scan the subject headings in relevant results. Look at this sample from PsycInfo, found with a keyword search for body image and eating disorders:

In this example, the keywords we searched for are indicated with red arrows. Since this record is on our topic, we can easily look through the subjects listed and identify subject headings. This leads us to the subject heading "body image," but it also helps us to identify other related subject terms, like "bulimia" and "dietary restraint." Now we can do a subject search with one of these headings to find more articles on this topic.

Often a database offers a list of the subject terms it uses to index items, usually called a list of subject headings or a thesaurus. Browsing or searching this list is another effective way to identify subject headings for your topic. Look for links to lists of subject headings on the database's search form, or look through the "help" section.

Subject heading lists for some databases have also been published as books. Two examples are the education database called ERIC and the psychology database called PsycInfo. Both of these books are available in the library's reference collection. In addition to listing the subject headings, these books also give brief definitions, or scope notes, that indicate the exact meaning of the term in that particular database. For example, the scope note will indicate whether the database uses the term Saturn to refer to the planet or the company. Many databases are starting to include these scope notes in their online subject lists too.

Here is an example from PsycInfo's online thesaurus:

In the next section we'll learn how to search a database with the subject heading we've just identified.