Controlled
Vocabulary (Subject) |
Advantages
-
When a list of subject terms (thesaurus) is
available, it may help you find an appropriate search term for your topic.
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When a list of subject terms (thesaurus) is
available, it will provide you with suggested terms for narrower, broader
or related topics.
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Using the appropriate subject heading for
a topic will retrieve all items in the database indexed under that
topic.
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Disadvantages
-
Recently coined terms, including new topics
and jargon may not yet be included in the list of subject terms.
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When a database does not provide a thesaurus
or list of subject terms, the controlled vocabulary may not be obvious.
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| Keyword |
Advantages
-
Using keyword(s) will retrieve items containing
new terms, distinctive words, or jargon.
-
If you do not know the appropriate subject
heading, descriptor or identifier for your topic, you can conduct a keyword
search first and look at a relevant item for the appropriate subject term.
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Disadvantages
-
You may retrieve items that are not relevant
to your topic (called false drops or false hits).
-
In order to retrieve more relevant items,
you need to use a variety of terms. For example, to retrieve items about
movies,
a keyword search must include related terms such as films, cinema, motion
pictures, etc.
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