SEARCH LIMITS
Many databases will also allow you to limit your search. Look for tabs or options that allow you to set search limits. Some common search limits are:
- Date of publication - This is particularly useful to narrow your sources to the most recent work
- Language - This will keep you from sorting through sources that are in languages you can't understand
- Type of Source - This is useful for when you are looking for one type of source only (e.g. journal or book)
- Full-text - If you use this limiter, be aware that this may eliminate very useful articles that the library has in print
In the University of Library Catalogue, you can use Advanced Search to limit searches by publication year and language or, once you have your search results, you can select the Limit Search button for the limit search options.
An effective way to search is by subject heading (sometimes called descriptors). Most databases assign each item subject headings. These subject headings are standardized according to each database which means that there will be consistency for subject headings, at least within that database. This is also called a controlled vocabulary.
Searching by subject heading will retrieve records that are more consistently relevant to your topic. However, the first step for subject searching is to figure out what subject headings are being used for your subject. One way to do this is to enter a term in a keyword search. When you find a record that applies to your topic, check what subject heading it is listed under and check all the other records under that subject heading. In the library catalogue this can be achieved easily by simply clicking on the hyperlinked subject heading.
Academic library catalogues use the Library of Congress Subject Headings which creates some consistency between them. However, many other databases set their own subject headings. Regardless, it is necessary to remember that subject headings have been created by and assigned by people and, therefore, some degree of bias and human error is inherent in the subject heading system. This can be seen, for example, with some texts of eastern religions being listed under literature.
When using databases it is also important to be aware of differing terminologies for the same concepts. These differences often reflect the biases of the database producers. A good example of this is the Catholic Periodical and Literature Index and ATLA - both of which have Catholic and Protestant biases respectively. See the following table for the differences in the number of hits using three different terms all meaning similar things: Communion, Eucharist, and Lord's Supper.
Compiled September 2003
The best way to find all appropriate subject headings is to look for a thesaurus (or index) of subject headings in the database. Unfortunately, not all databases have thesauri. You can often browse a database by subject headings. To browse the Library Catalogue by subject, select browse below the search box, enter your term, then select to search by subject below the search box.
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