The database CINAHL Ultimate provides access to a vast amount of information on nursing and allied health from around the world. Learn how to use the CINAHL subject headings to locate useful information effectively and efficiently.
Subject terms are assigned based on article content, allowing you to create a targeted search. When you click the Suggest Subject Terms box above the search bar prior to conducting a search, your terms are searched against the CINAHL Headings. From there, you can select headings and subheadings to refine your search.
1. Enter search terms in the search bar, check the Suggest Subject Terms box and click search.
2. From the list of related terms select a subject heading to view available subheadings.
3. Check boxes of desired subheadings to add them to your search. Terms are added to the Search Term Builder box on the right.
4. To add more headings to your search click Browse Additional Terms and follow the same steps of searching for a search term and selecting subject headings and subheadings.
OR
Click Search Database to execute the search.
5. Limiters can be used to further refine the results.
Using Explode and Major Concept when selecting subject headings
Explode: When you explode a term, you create a search query that “explodes” the subject heading. The headings are exploded to retrieve all references indexed to that term as well as all references indexed to any narrower subject terms. To explode a term check the box to the right of the term.
Major Concept: When you select Major Concept for a term, you create a search query that finds only records for which the subject heading is a major point of the article. To select a term as major concept check the box to the right of the term.
