FirstSearch:  An Online Introduction

Related Subjects:  Another Way to Find Similar Results

Searching Related Subjects is like Hyperlink Searching.

Only some FirstSearch databases offer Related Subjects.

Once you perform a Search, Related Subjects will let you choose similar Subjects to search.

There are 2 ways to used the Related Subjects Feature:

1. Narrow or limit your current Search using the Related Subjects you select

2. Perform a new Search using the Related Subjects you select
  

1.  Narrowing or limiting your current Search using the Related Subjects you select

Let's use our CINAHL search on nursing and ethics as our example.

Once we perform our Search, the results page with Brief Records appears.   (Notice there are 4147 Records.)
We click the "Related Subjects" button.
FirstSearch copies the Subject Headings from the first 50 Records in the Results list.

FirstSearch shows us a list of Subject Headings from the first 50 Records in our Results list.
We click in the "Limit Current Search.." box.
We choose up to 3 Subject Heading to use by clicking in their boxes.
We click the "Start Search" button.

Now FirstSearch takes the 4147 Records from our nursing and ethics Search,
and retrieves only those Records that have one of the 3 Subject Headings we chose.
As you see, that narrowed our search from 4147 Records to  3442 Records.

2.  Perform a new Search using the Related Subjects you select

If we don't click the "Limit Current Search..." box, then FirstSearch will perform a new Search.

FirstSearch will retrieve any Records in the CINAHL database that have any of the Subject Headings we chose.
For our 3 Subject Headings, that search would retrieve 33090 Records.

Note:  Clicking  "Show remaining subjects " will show you more Subject Headings you can choose.
            Clicking the "Clear" button will clear the Subject Headings you've selected.
          

Next:  Using the Limit Search feature

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