How to search CINAHL

Subject headings are specific terms or phrases that describe the content of each item in a database. These headings are used to find relevant articles on the same topic.  Searching by subject headings is the most precise way to search article databases.

It is not easy to guess which subject headings are used in a given database. You might have to find what term is used for a subject first before using it.

To access CINAHL's list of standardized subject headings:

1. From CINAHL main search window, click the check box next to Suggest Subject Terms.
2. Type in your term (e.g. cell phone), and hit Enter/Return (on your keyboard).
3. Identify the subject heading (e.g. Cellular Phone) that most closely matches your topic.
4. Click the check box next to the subject heading.
5. Click Search Database.

Each subject heading may be further refined using Subheadings.  These terms help the researcher to quickly narrow in on a specific aspect of the subject heading. 

When searching on the topic of "What is the risk of mortality due to cell phone use in distracted teen drivers?"  One of our subject headings would be "mortality".  We might be specifically interested in the cause (etiology) of mortality, how to prevent or control mortality, the risk factors for mortality and any trends in mortality as these relate to cell phone use in teen drivers. 

Searching CINAHL for subject headings and subheadings:

1. Search for the subject heading.
2. Click the check box next to the subject heading.
3. Click the check box(es) next to the subheadings of interest. (Note: if you are not sure if a subject heading or subheading is appropriate click on the note associated with it to learn more)
4. The selected subheadings are added to the search in the Search Term box.  Click Search Database.

CINAHL subject headings can be further classified as minor and major subject headings.  These reflect the focus of the paper they are assigned to. When you look at an item record in CINAHL you can see which subject headings are the major and which are the minor ones. This classification can be used to further refine searches with a large number of results.

Using the example "What is the risk of mortality due to cell phone use in distracted teen drivers?".  We might decide that we want the concept of "distracted driving" to be the major concept of the papers we are interested in.

Searching for major concept in CINAHL subject headings:

1. Search for the subject heading of interest (e.g. distracted driving).
2. Click the check box next to the subject heading of interest to select it.
3. In the Search Term box, click the check box under "Major Concept".
4. Click Search Database.

Individual subject headings in CINAHL are a part of a larger structure of interconnected terms.  This structure is often referred to as a "tree structure" or "hierarchal display". This shows the relationship between terms.  When you explode a term the database searches not only the selected term but all narrower terms connected to it.  This can be used to expand your search to include all relevant terms very quickly with out much typing.

Using the example "What is the risk of mortality due to cell phone use in distracted teen drivers?".  Let's look at the mortality concept more closely.  

Looking at the Explode column, you see that the check box for mortality is showing as empty rather than grey'ed out like the ones below it.  This is an indicator that there are narrower terms associated with this subject heading.  Click on Mortality to see what those terms are.

On review, all of the narrower terms ("Cause of Death", "Child Mortality", "Hospital Mortality", "infant Mortality", "Maternal mortality", "Survival Rate") look like they could be potentially useful to our search.  

Exploding a subject heading:

1. Click the check box next to the subject heading of interest (e.g. mortality).
2. Click the check box in the explode column for the subject heading of interest.
3. Click Search Database.

If your search has too many results consider using one or more of these methods to refine your subject heading searches:

• use subheadings
• use major concept

If your search has too few results consider the following for your subject heading searches:

• select all subheadings (default)
• do not use major concept
• use explode where it's available

Librarians often start a subject heading search by using the default setting of applying all subheadings.  This is to be as inclusive as possible of results.  It is often better to allow searches to be refined by using other concepts (with boolean operators) rather than focusing on specific subheadings or major concepts.  If the final set of results is too large they will go back and do further refinement.

1. Start with a keyword search, using words/phrases that describe your topic.
2. Browse the results; choose 2 or 3 that are relevant.
3. Click on the title of the article of interest.
4. Look at the Major Subjects and Minor Subjects listed and note the terms used (write them down).
5. Redo your search using those terms.
6. Your results will be more precise than your initial keyword search.