To browse a list of subject headings available in the database, click the Thesaurus button on the green sub-toolbar. A new thesaurus-specific Browse Screen is displayed.
Enter your search terms in the Browse for entry field, and then select from: Term Begins With, Term Contains, or Relevancy Ranked radio buttons and click Browse.
A list of headings is displayed. In some databases, you can hover over the Scope link and view the entire Scope Note. Clicking on the Scope link positions you directly at the Scope Note area of the detail screen.
As you select headings, mark explode and/or major concept, and then add to your search using and, or, or not, your search is being built in the Find field.
To display a list of results that match your search terms, click Search.
Note: In some databases, the sub-toolbar button is labeled Subject Terms, and the radio buttons are labeled Alphabetical and Relevancy Ranked.
If you browse the MeSH thesaurus and enter “acids” in the Browse for field and select Term Begins With, the list displays the terms in alphabetical order:
Acids
Acids,
2,5-Dihydroxybenzoic Use: Gentisates
Acids, 2-Butenoic Use: Crotonic Acids
Acids, 4-Hydroxybenzoic Use: Parabens
Acids, Acetic Use: Acetic Acids
Acids, Acyclic
…
If you browse the MeSH thesaurus and enter “acids” in the Browse for field and select Term Contains, the term searched for appears first followed by a list of terms displayed in alphabetical order:
Acids
2 Butenoic
Acids Use: Crotonic
Acids
2,5 Dihydroxybenzoic
Acids Use: Gentisates
2,5-Dihydroxybenzoic Acids Use: Gentisates
2-Butenoic Acids Use: Crotonic Acids
4 Hydroxybenzoic Acids Use: Parabens
4-Hydroxybenzoic Acids Use: Parabens
…
If you browse the MeSH thesaurus and enter “acids” in the Browse for field and selected Relevancy Ranked, the exact match for the term appears first followed by a list of terms displayed in order of relevance.
Acids
Alpha-Linolenic Acid
Amino Acid Transport Systems, Acidic
Aspartic Acid
Deoxycholic Acid
Linolenic Acid
...
Explode
When you Explode a term, you create a search query that “explodes” the subject heading. The headings are exploded to retrieve all references indexed to that term as well as all references indexed to any narrower terms.
In a database with a tree, such as MeSH or CINAHL Headings, exploding retrieves all documents containing any of the terms below the term you selected in the tree. In a thesaurus, exploding retrieves all documents containing the selected term, as well as any of its first level of narrower terms. If a plus sign (+) appears next to a narrower or related term, there are narrower terms below it.
When you select Major Concept for a term, you create a search query that finds only records for which the subject heading is a major point of the article. Searches are limited with specific qualifiers (subheadings) to improve the precision of the search, and limited to major subject headings indicate the main concept of an article.
If you select Explode and Major Concept, you retrieve all references indexed to your term (and its narrower terms) and all articles for which the subject heading is a major point of the article.