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Keyword/Textword

Searching


Medical Subject Headings

Overview 1

Mapping

Subheadings

MeSH Tree

Explode

Focus

Combining (AND, OR)

Combining Overview

Limiting

Displaying Results

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KEYWORD/TEXTWORD SEARCHING
Screen 3 of 3

EXAMPLES of why keyword/textword searching can be sloppy:

One author publishes an article using the word AIDS in the title and abstract, while another uses Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and yet another uses Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.

If a text word/key word search was conducted using only one of these terms, then only one of the three articles would be retrieved, even though all are equally relevant.

A text word/key word search would also miss HIV and related terms.

Another example that makes the same point is locating articles on prisoners. You would miss many articles if you did not also perform textword/keyword searches using prison,
"prisons"
"incarcerated"
"incarceration"
"imprisoned"
"jail"
"juvenile detention facilities"
etc.