Subject Heading searching is a more specific and targeted way to search for articles than keyword searching.
Articles in databases are indexed (or categorized) with subject heading terminology which works like a thesaurus. If there is more than one way of describing a concept or topic (i.e. hypertension or high blood pressure), the subject heading will take all of those varieties into consideration - saving you the time of having to experiment with different keywords. For example, the subject heading for Hypertension will find articles that use the term high blood pressure.
To do a Subject Heading search, follow the steps and tutorials in the charts below for your chosen database.
CINAHL and MEDLINE Databases
| Database | STEP 1 - To begin a subject heading search, click the corresponding link at the top of each database search screen: | ||
| CINAHL | CINAHL Subject Headings | ||
| MEDLINE | MeSH 2022 (note - MeSH is an acronym for Medical Subject Headings) | ||
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STEP 2 - Proceed with your search by following the instructions in the Using CINAHL/MeSH Headings video tutorial | ||
Additional Relevant EBSCOhost Databases
| Database | STEP 1 - To begin a subject heading search, click the corresponding link at the top of each database search screen: |
| Alt Health Watch | Subjects |
| APA PsycINFO | APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms |
| Education Research Complete | Thesaurus |
| ERIC | Thesaurus |
| Health Source: Nursing/Academic | Subjects |
| LGBTQ+ Source | Thesaurus |
| Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection | Subjects |
| SocINDEX | Subject Terms |
| Sociological Collection | Subjects |
| SPORTDiscus | Thesaurus |
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STEP 2 - Proceed with your search by following the instructions in the Browsing Subject Terms in EBSCOhost Databases video tutorial or the APA PsycINFO* Sample Search tutorial *Although this video is specific to the APA PsycINFO database, the search steps are similar in any of the databases above |
Subject Headings are terms used by a database to organize articles in an efficient manner on the same topic. Subject Headings are also described as a controlled vocabulary or a thesaurus. For example, a CINAHL Subject Heading search with the Subject Heading 'Hypertension' will also find results that use the term high blood pressure as well as any articles on hypertension. This one Subject Heading takes all the varieties of that concept into account. As a result, you may often need to use less Subject Headings in a database search, as opposed to a Keyword search.
Depending on your topic or question, the use of two or more Subject Headings for each part of your PICO(T) search might not always be possible. Therefore, per the Subject Heading (SH) Search grading rubric (see BB Assignments > Subject Heading Search > Database Search Assignment):
"[NOTE: One SH is acceptable if the search with two SH severely limits the number of results at the end of the search.]"
If you are only able to use one Subject Heading for any part of your PICO(T) search, provide a rationale or a note directly underneath it in the assignment. Here is an example of a search for the P (Patient/Population/Problem) with a rationale for using one Subject Heading:
