Search engines, like Google, search by keyword. The default search in Orbis, Quicksearch, and Articles+ is also by keyword, where you will get results with your keyword(s) located anywhere in the record or document.
If you have a specific phrase you want to find as a keyword, such as "World War" or "Great Britain" it is important to include these terms as phrases. To do so, simply put quotation marks around the phrase. Doing so will ensure that the catalog or database does not look for each word separately, meaning "world" in one place and "war" somewhere else -- which will not be useful!
A subject defines a book or an article as a whole, and subject headings link information -- just like how hashtags link conversations in social media (#yalelibrary). Using subject headings is an effective way of doing research.
When searching for any of these subject headings, for best results take out dividing punctuation ( >) and use quotation marks (see image below).
Subject headings are available for authors, too. Do a SUBJECT BROWSE in Orbis for an author (last name, first name) to find their associated subject heading.
You can combine your keyword and subject searches by using Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT in an Advanced Search. When combined with keywords and/or subjects, boolean operators will help focus your search in the following ways:
In the example above:
Below is an example of the concepts described here, as seen in an advanced search form. All databases will have an advanced search option to help you structure your search (using AND, OR, NOT operators).
ROW 1: "world war II" or "world war two"
ROW 2: AND women or mother*
ROW 3: AND england or "great britain"
Notice that each of the fields say "All Fields" - this indicates a keyword search. When starting a new search, always keep your fields as keywords unless you know a subject heading already. Other options in these drop-down menus include author name, publication names, and title, to name a few.
Note: The asterick (*) after "mother" is telling the database to search for variations of the word "mother," such as "motherhood," "mothers," "mothering," etc.
From the Noun Project: "Keyword" icon by H. Alberto Gongora