Finding Information

Sources in Nursing

Table of Contents

Getting Started

   Types of Databases

Journal Articles

  Full-Text Databases

  Citation Databases

     Thesaurus

     Strategy #1

     Strategy #2

     Strategy #3

Review

More Info on the Headings

As we mentioned before, the Thesaurus is the list of acceptable subject terms for a database.

The subject terms are organized as a tree.  They start with just a few major topics and then "branch out" into narrower and narrower terms.

For example, there are various subject terms to describe people mentioned in an article.  The broadest term is "Named Groups by Age" (a vague term).  The narrower terms are much more specific, such as

                Adolescence

                Adult

                Child

Each term then branches out into even more specific terms.  Look at the age groups below.  As you move to the right, you are finding subsets that are more specific than the terms to their left.

                Adolescence

Adolescent, Hospitalized

                Adult

Aged (aged 65-79)

Aged, 80 and Over

Aged, Hospitalized

Frail Elderly

Middle Age (aged 45-64)

                Child

Child, Abandoned

Child, Adopted

Child, Disabled

Child, Foster

Child, Gifted

Child, Hospitalized

Child, Institutionalized

Child, Medically Fragile

Child, Preschool

Latchkey Children

Only Child

Infant       

Infant, Drug-Exposed

Infant, High Risk

Infant, Hospitalized

Infant, Newborn

Infant, Large for Gestational Age

Infant, Low Birth Weight    

Infant, Postmature

Infant, Premature

You can see that the terms become quite specific.  For example, "Infant, Low Birth Weight" is much more specific than "Child."

Using these specific subject headings in your search will help you to focus on the articles for your topic out of the millions of citations in a premium database!