Truncation Character
A truncation character is an asterisk character, used in a search query to substitute for many characters. For example, a search for nurse* will find the terms nurse, nurses, nursing, and nursed.
Wildcard Character
A question mark symbol used in a search query to stand in for one or more characters. For example, a search for sm?th will find the terms smith and smyth.
Check database help files to find out what specific characters are used.
If you don’t know the title or author of an item, or if you are searching for something about a topic, you will probably rely on keyword or subject searches. Successful searching depends on understanding when to use one search method over the other.
Keyword searches are similar to Internet search engine searches such as Google in that the database will look for terms you use anywhere they might be in a document. This is regardless of whether the word is found in the title, author’s name, place of publication, or footnote.
Subject searches on the other hand, only return results in which the search term appears in the subject field of the database. All databases have different search interfaces and use different terminology, but most will provide these two search options.
When to use?
• If you know appropriate subjects for your search, use subject search.
• If you want to combine terms use keyword search.
• If you are having difficulties finding information on your topic, use keyword search.
• If subject searching isn’t working for you, use a keyword search, this may lead you to a citation with an appropriate subject heading.
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Keyword Searches |
Subject Searches |
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Search for |
Records that have search term anywhere within them. |
Records that have the search term in the subject headings part of that record. |
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Volume |
Depending on the terms used, searches my retrieve no results or thousands. Searches with general terms often return many results. |
Varies widely. Some searches will retrieve hundreds of results, but if you choose an invalid subject term, you will get none. |
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Relevance |
Varies. Results may be completely unrelated to your topic. |
High, as long as you identify an appropriate subject heading for your topic. |
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Flexibility |
High. Terms can be combined in different ways to design more effective searches. |
Limited by the manner in which the subjects are structured in the database. |
If your research topic is about something that is not a current news event or recent discovery, looking for a book on your topic can be a good way to start your research. Here is a list of searchable book-related resources:
The Madigan Library Discovery catalog includes the largest network of content and services. Includes articles, books, eBooks, videos, and digital items.
The Madigan Library subscribes to over 80 databases that index periodical articles, many of them available in full-text. Check out the following link to access the databases:
