Students complete a handout that guides them as they do a subject heading search in a database selected by their instructor. A short discussion follows.
Other activities in this series: Activity 5A, Specialized Databases: Pretest/Post-Test
Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
- Search subject headings.
Relevant Threshold Concepts
- Searching as strategic exploration.
Suggestions for Use
- This activity should be helpful in classes where students will be searching specialized databases, particularly once they have a research topic or have developed a research question. If students don’t yet have such a topic or question, give them a topic to search on.
- It’s important that students already know how to keyword search. (Activities 4A, 4B, and 4C teach keyword searching.)
- Students can complete Handout 5B electronically or in print.
- If you worry that students won’t be able to complete Handout 5B-1 in the time allotted in class, consider making this a between-class assignment.
Pre-Class Preparation
- Review the handout for this activity.
- Review In-Class Procedure below.
- Decide whether you want students to complete Handout 5B-1 on paper or electronically.
- If you decided on electronic handouts, put Handout 5B-1 in your learning management system.
- If you decided on paper copies, print Handout 5B-1 (1 copy per student and 1 for yourself).
- Consider assigning students to read before class the section “Specialized Databases,” Chapter 5, Search Tools in Choosing & Using Sources.
- Select the specialized database you’d like students to search in this activity. For this activity, it must be one that allows subject heading searching.
- Download and perhaps print In-Class Procedure so you can take them with you to class.
In-Class Procedure
- If you’re having students use printed copies of Handout 5B-1, pass them out or set them where students can pick them up as they come in.
- If you’re having students use an electronic Handout 5B-1, tell them how to find and open it.
- Introduce the activity by saying that students will be learning a searching method that will be new to many of them and that it is a powerful and effective way to search in the specialize databases that allow it. This search method is called subject headings searching.
- Tell students which database they will be searching, give them a link or URL, and ask them to go to that database on their devices.
- Ask them to complete Handout 5B-1 in the next 10 minutes using that database.
- After about 10 minutes, ask a few students to tell you how successful they felt using this method. What difficulties did they run into?
Relevant Choosing & Using Sources Chapters:
Chapter 5, Search Tools,.
