Tips for Database Searching: Fields

Records in library databases are comprised of fields containing specific pieces of bibliographic information. Common fields include:

• author
• title
• journal title
• abstract
• publisher
• date/year of publication
• subject/descriptor

• Limiting your search to specific database fields can yield more precise results.

• For instance, if you are looking for books by Adam Smith instead of about him, it is more efficient to limit your search to the author field.

• To find various fields within a database, look for drop down boxes or menus to select the field you want to search.

• Then combine words and fields together with boolean or proximity operators, depending on how precise you want to be.

• If you do not choose a specific field, the database usually reverts to a keyword search, where your words will be searched throughout the record.

• If your keyword search retrieves too many records (more than 50), try narrowing your search to retrieve a more manageable result.

• Information overload - too many results - can be a worse situation than finding only 10 very relevant results.

The record belows shows the field names on the left: Authors, Source, Document Type, Subject Terms, Geographic Terms, Abstract, Author Affiliations, ISSN, DOI, Accession Number, and Database.

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Or use these related research guides: