These are the official Library of Congress Subject Headings that you can use for many of your searches in our databases. You would find subject headings such as these by browsing through the Library of Congress Subject Headings books or browsing the "Catalog Record" of every title found in our Library Catalog. |
EXAMPLES
Natural Disasters Earthquakes Haiti Chile Hurricanes Hurricane Katrina, 2005 Emergency Management Preparedness Disaster Relief Environmental Conditions |
Same Sex Marriage Marriage Law Domestic Partner Benefits Civil Unions Gay Couples Lesbian Couples Same Sex Relationships Equality Gays--Legal Status, Laws, etc.
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Telecommunication–Law & legislation Telecommunication Policy--United States. Internet Government Policy Broadband Communication Systems Telephone Companies Internet Internet – Law & legislation Internet Fraud Internet & teenagers Internet Users Computer Networks Electronic Monitoring in the Workplace Privacy |
While not official subject headings, these keywords can be very fruitful for your research. Try to also think of other terms such as these. Keyword searches look at all the information in the book or article record including title, author, abstract, table of contents, etc. It always helps to think of synonyms, as the way one person would describe something is not the same way another would.
Disaster Preparedness
Gay Marriage
Internet Privacy
Using the correct words to search will help you find relevant information. Different authors and search tools use different words to describe the same concepts, so it is useful to have a list of similar and related terms in your arsenal when you set out to search for relevant information. The process of creating these alternative terms is called brainstorming terms or concept mapping.
EXAMPLE
Earthquakes AND California
Using the correct words to search will help you find relevant information. Different authors and search tools use different words to describe the same concepts, so it is useful to have a list of similar and related terms in your arsenal when you set out to search for relevant information. The process of creating these alternative terms is called brainstorming terms or concept mapping.
EXAMPLE
Sex Differences AND Communication
If for some reason, you are getting results you do NOT want (say for example you want to find only articles on communication in opposite sex marriages) try a NOT search. Librarians caution that NOT searches often also weed out articles that may have been relevant for you. So only perform such searches if you have LOTS of results (say over ten that are in full text format):
EXAMPLE
Marriage NOT Same Sex