Searching Computerized Databases
Are Fields Important?

Most computerized databases allow you to search an individual field or combination of fields. For example, when you do a Subject Browse in the Library Catalog, you are instructing the computer to search for your words in the subject fields ONLY.

The default search for most computerized databases is All Categories, also known as Keyword. It would make more sense if they called it All Fields. When you search in All Categories the computer searches a number of different fields, including the title and subject fields. When in doubt, use Keyword or All Categories.

Look at the screenshot below. If you did a Subject search on the word slob would this article be retrieved.

Yes

No

perfields.JPG (30661 bytes)

 

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