Activity: The Key to Your Subject


The Key to Your Subject Activity

5-12

Search Strategies

Subject & Keyword Activity: The Key to Your Subject

 

You just read about the advantages and disadvantages to searching online using a keyword versus a subject heading. This becomes most crucial when using online databases. Your online card catalog at your local library uses this strategy to find materials on a given topic. The keyword strategy usually yields a greater number of "hits" but often the hits are not of the quality to help you much.

Navigate to the EBSCO databases from the link on the right under Student Resources. Enter the EBSCO databases and choose the Student Research Center.

This interface defaults in the Basic Search to the KEYWORD strategy, so let's go with that first. Use measles as your search term. Make sure there is a check "full text" in the box below so we don't get abstracts of articles that may not help us with this activity.

Press Search.

 

• How many hits did you get? __________

 

• How are they arranged down the page?

   __________________________________________________

 

• Do all of the hits look relevant to a search on measles, the disease?

   __________________________________________________

 

Now, click on the ADVANCED SEARCH button at the top of the page.  Use the drop down menu to the right of the empty box where you will type your search term.  Select Subject Terms.  Then let's type  measles in the box beside as our search topic.

Press the Search button and let's see what happens.

 

• How are the subjects arranged?

   __________________________________________________

 

• How do you find the actual articles?

   __________________________________________________

 

• How did the number of hits compare to the keyword search?

   __________________________________________________

 



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