Identify all the major concepts of your thesis or research topic. Then use the thesaurus or subject index to locate, explore and select descriptors for each concept of your topic.

Example:opens new window Communication Source:

1. Click Thesaurus or Subject in the top menu bar.
2. Key your term in the Browsing Thesaurus text box and select a browse function, such as Relevancy Ranked. Click Browse.
3. Click a term to display details. Mark the checkbox in front of the terms(s). Click Add to move the term(s) into the search text box.
4. Click Search or, browse for another descriptor to add to the search string.

Example: opens new window International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance

opens new windowGo there.

Whereas the common keyword search is based on an exact word match, a subject or thesaurus search locates records by assigned subject or descriptors.

Searching with controlled vocabulary in a subject index or thesaurus allows you to:

• more precisely retrieve relevant information on your topic,
• illustrates relationship between related terms and
• helps you identify synonyms and broader and narrower terms.

Keyword and subject terms searching can be combined.
Rather than guessing what keywords to use, consider doing a subject or thesaurus (controlled vocabulary) search first. Review and evaluate your results. Then, add a keyword search to the query or use Search History to combine searches.