Philosophy & Strategy for Christian Ministries (CMI 421)

Keywords and Subjects are not the same! Keywords (like how you search Google) are not controlled—just important words and phrases related (sometimes loosely) to the topic. Subject terms or subject headings are what the item is "about"—they are controlled or standardized vocabulary that is used throughout a database and will provide the most relevant resources about the same topic. See the chart below from Dakota Wesleyan University for a great overview of the difference.

Stop words: a, an, are, be, if, in, into, of, on, the, which...these words are excluded and ignored by a database. You can leave them out of any search unless they are necessary. If they are necessary, then you want to put the phrase that includes the stop word(s) within quotation marks to tell the database to include those words in the search. 

By using these connectors when employing library searches you will achieve the best results.

• AND
  • This will narrow searches to include all terms that are connected with AND.
  • Example, "spiritual formation" AND "Fowler" requires both terms be present in the title, abstract, or keywords of a citation.
• OR
  • This broadens searches to include more options based on search terms.
  • (college OR university) AND "Scripture Engagement" AND ("small groups" OR "discipleship groups")
  • Either the term college OR the term university must be present along with the phrase either "small groups" OR "discipleship groups" in the title, abstract, or keywords assigned to a citation.
• NOT
  • This excludes a term from a search and thus helps narrow searches results. A search may be found to be too broad or not related to what is being sought. The NOT operator excludes a term from the search results.
  • Example: "Children's ministry" AND (education NOT school)

Most Databases include a way to search the specific Subject Terms used within that database. Knowing and using the databases own controlled vocabulary will make you the most efficient researcher you can be. When browsing a database for its controlled vocabulary look for a navigational link that says Subjects, Subject Terms, Thesaurus, Index, etc.. The name used may vary but the purpose (a dictionary of the controlled vocabulary) is the same.

• Use an * (asterisk) in your term.
  • When applied to a root of a word, it will search for multiple forms of a word at one time.
  • Examples
    • immigra* = immigrant, immigration
    • polic* = policy, policies
• Use Quotation Marks around a common/important phrase
  • Sometimes, your keyword is really a key phrase. Quotation marks will ensure you search those exact words in that order.
  • "child development" or "climate change"
• Add Additional Search Terms
  • If you have way too many results (>200), try adding another keyword or search term.
• Use Limit/Refine options
  • Narrow the number of results you need to review by limiting the date range, or to scholarly/academic journals (when needed), or to Full Text (if you want immediate access to the article itself without using Interlibrary Loan).
  • Limit by Source Type: journal article, newspaper, magazine, etc.