BUILT - An Information Literacy Tutorial for Science Undergrads

University of Alabama Libraries, Science Tutorial

Another way to find subject headings is to do a keyword search. A keyword search allows you to locate articles that include your keywords within the title, abstract, or subject heading areas.

Let's say you searched using the keyword free speech. Look at the following record to see where the database found that word.

Authors
Joyce-Hasham, Mariyam.

Title
Web offence.

Source
The World Today. 56(3):11-13. 2000 Mar.

Subject Headings
Internet
Freedom of Speech
White Supremacists
Censorship

Abstract
As racist and extremist views proliferate over the Internet, governments are trying to determine whether Internet free speech has gone too far, or whether the extremist rhetoric posted on the Internet is a small price to pay for a medium that encourages expression.

Notice the other subject headings that you could enter as keywords to help you find additional articles.

Use keyword searching to:

start your research
identify the subject headings used for your topic
find specific information (a fact, date or name)
find every occurrence of the words you enter in that database

Searching using a single keyword may be easy; but most of your topics are probably more complex than a single word can describe. The following pages will give you some tips for combining more than one idea effectively.

University of Alabama Libraries, Find . . .