Subject headings are umbrella terms (high-level words and phrases) that many databases assign to the articles they index so that there is an easy way to group articles that discuss the same topic.
Subject headings (sometimes called subject terms, controlled vocabulary, or controlled terms) are searchable within a database using a tool called a Thesaurus or Subject Index.
Not all databases in the social sciences assign subject headings, so you will need to check the database help page to see if your database does. One very well-known example of a controlled vocabulary is called MeSH or “Medical Subject Headings” and if your research falls within social work, development studies, psychology, or another health-adjacent field, you may be using a database that assigns Medical Subject Headings to each article it indexes.
If your field of study is not health-adjacent (economics, anthropology, political science, etc.) your database may use its own specialized subject headings or not assign subject headings at all.
Subject headings help address two big challenges you may face when searching a database: synonyms and complex or inconsistent concept description.
When you generate a list of concept synonyms, there is always a chance that you have left something out. By adding a suitable subject heading to your search, you increase your chances of retrieving all relevant results. The same is true of concepts with complex or inconsistent description across the literature. When a database assigns a subject heading to a group of like-articles, the inclusion of a suitable subject heading in your search will help capture the maximum number of relevant results regardless of inconsistent description.
On their own, subject headings can generate a quick, relevant, set of articles for you to examine. But searching only using subject headings will lead to an incomplete result. For a comprehensive search in a database with a subject heading index, always include both keywords and subject headings.
Once you have generated an initial list of keywords (keeping in mind that you may want to add/remove keywords as you test your search), search the subject heading index or thesaurus in the database you are using for each keyword.
Imagine you're using the database Business Source Premier to investigate labour relations between a Canadian mining company and its employees in Latin America. As you plan your search you identify several keywords to represent the concept employees including the keywords employees and workers.
But how do you know if the subject heading WORKING class has a meaning that is synonymous or just related to your key concept?
Business Source Premier and many other databases include subject heading definitions in their thesaurus. These definitions are often called scope notes and are sometimes accessed by clicking on the hyperlinked subject heading phrase or via a hyperlinked scope note icon next to or nearby the subject heading phrase. If you find a subject heading that has the same meaning as your keyword (or if it has a meaning that is closely related to your keyword), include this subject heading in your search.
No. Most databases use a unique list of subject headings that are not found in any other database. The main exception to this rule is MeSH, the Medical Subject Heading index, which is used by a number of health science databases including Medline and PubMed.
Sometimes the meaning is the same or similar. Sometimes it can be very different.
Be sure to read the scope note (if one is available) and carefully consider the meaning of the phrase in the context of your research question.
Here are two examples of subject headings that use the same language but are used in very different ways:
Scope note:Works on the collective human activities involved in the production and distribution of goods and services.
Scope note:Process of delivery of a baby.
No, not all databases have subject headings. Some databases only allow you to keyword search. Here is a list of databases commonly used in the social sciences that have subject headings followed by a list of databases that do not.
Citations to journal articles, books, reviews, and chapters in the fields of anthropology, economics, political science, and sociology.
Citations and abstracts of scholarly journals, dissertations, books, and conference papers in the social and behavioural sciences.
