To get the best results from your search, try to find search words and phrases that describe your topic as accurately as possible. Also try to think about alternative search words, such as
In Volter database there is a lot of resources in English and in international databases the search language is usually English. Depending on the subject, database and your language skills you can search for resources in other languages as well!
For example, search words for
You can use dictionaries to look for search words:
When you have identified your key concepts, you are ready to collect a list of "search terms" or "keywords" which correspond to each concept. Alternative search terms for the main concepts identified earlier are listed below.
Example topic: Trends and changes in the Pacific Northwest's natural environment brought about by economic development during the 21st century
|
Concept 1
|
Concept 2
|
Concept 3
|
| Pacific Northwest | environment | economic development |
| Washington state | air | industrialization, industrialisation |
| Oregon | water | suburban sprawl |
| Montana | land | recreation industry |
| Idaho | soil | timber industry |
| Alaska | ozone | highway construction |
| Seattle | forests | tourism |
| Portland | public land | paper mills |
| Puget Sound | mountains | mills |
| Vancouver Island | ocean | economic growth |
| Rocky Mountains | public land | |
| Portland | community | |
| Columbia River | parks | |
| Cascade Mountains | old growth forest | |
|
Portland (The list can go on and on with rivers, mountains, cities, and other areas including counties, etc.) |
|
This example is based on the LibGuide created by Washington State University Library.
Knowing the correct subjects terms/headings used in your discipline will help you focus your search. They are controlled phrases used to describe the contents of books or articles. A thesaurus (also called Subjects/Subject terms/Subject headings) lists the subject terms used to describe information in a particular discipline or a database.
You can use thesauri as an aid to identify search terms. The subject terms in thesauri can sometimes differ from the terms you would normally use, so you can find search terms you would not otherwise think of. Thesauri also often describe the relationships between terms, such as narrower, broader and related terms. If your search produces too few results, you can try to expand it by using a broader subject term. If there are too many results, you can try to focus it by using a narrower term. NOTE: Related terms do not mean they are synonyms.
Thesauri can be general, such as the YSO General Finnish Ontology, which is widely used in Finnish databases (libraries, repositories). There are also discipline-specific thesauri (e.g. NLM's MeSH Medical Subject Headings). The resources in Volter database are described using both YSO and several discipline-specific thesauri.
Remember that different databases use different thesauri to describe their contents. Many databases have their own thesaurus. Look for subject terms from the thesaurus of the database you are using!
When you find a good book or other resouce in a database, see what subject terms are used to describe its contents. Often they work as links to search the database for other materials that carry same subject term.
Databases, especially discipline-specific ones, may have their own thesauri. Below is the thesaurus for Education database Eric in EbscoHost showing broader, narrower and related terms for the subject heading well being:
The ProQuest Thesaurus for ABI/INFORM Collection showing related items and a broader term for subject heading young adults.
