Subject headings, descriptors and thesauri terms are examples of "controlled vocabularies." They are lists of pre-defined, carefully selected words and phrases used to classify and organize information. Subject headings and thesauri terms describe the general content of a book, an article, an essay, or other information unit.

The keyword search is based on an exact word match, but a subject or thesaurus search locates records by assigned subject or descriptors. Searching with subject headings or thesauri terms allows you to more precisely retrieve relevant information on your topic.

Use subject headings and the thesaurus to:

• get ideas
• browse synonyms, broader terms, and narrower topics of interest
• get specific, targeted results
• combine with keyword searching for more focused results
• identify relationship between related terms

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

After you search term(s), use the subject list in the right menu to limit the results. Click the More link to view more subjects.

1. In the database, click Subject Terms in the top menu.

2. On the browse screen, enter your term, select the display option (Term Begins With, Term Contains, or Relevancy Ranked), and then click the Browse button.

3. Mark one or multiple terms. Click Add. (Or, click a subject term to view the Scope Note, Broader Terms, Related Terms and Narrower Terms.) Your marked subject heading(s) are added to the top search box. Add additional keywords or other subject terms to your search.

1. In the database, click indexes in the top menu bar.

2. For Browse an Index, select Subject Terms or other relevant field. Key in your term or subject.

3. Mark one or multiple subject heading(s). Click Add. Your marked subject headings are added to the top search box.

4. Click Search. Add additional keywords or other index terms to your search, as needed.