Ruth Lilly Medical Library

Keyword Searching & Subject Searching

• Keyword searching is what most people are familiar with.
• Subject searching can take more time but tends to yield better results.
• Not all concepts have subject headings, and sometimes, you will want to use both strategies.

     Tips for Keyword Searching:

• Use synonyms
• Truncate: In a lot of databases, the symbol is "*". For example, "diagnos*" will bring up articles with diagnosis, diagnosing, diagnostic, diagnostics, etc.
• Spelling: For instance, pediatrics or paediatrics. For more British spellings, you may want to look at this site
• Use fields like abstract or title: One way to limit results to more relevant items is to look for keywords in the abstract or title of an article.

     Tips for Subject Searching:

• Look for the suggestions in the database. For example, MeSH in PubMed or "Suggest Subject Terms" in CINAHL.
• Search each concept separately so you can take advantage of term mapping.
• If the term does not map the first time, try a synonymous term. You might also try searching for your term in the title of articles and then look at the subject terms (a.k.a. headings).