What are subject headings?

Subject headings are standardized words or phrases used in library catalogues and some databases to find books, articles, maps, films, and other resources by subject -- also sometimes called simply subjects or index terms.

Adding subject headings to your searches can often give more focused results than searching by keyword. 

They can also allow you to retrieve articles or books that use different keywords for the same subject. For instance, the subject heading  Adolescence can allow you to retrieve articles that use terms like teens, teenagers, adolescents, or youth.

Finding and using subject headings 

Once you have found one suitable book or article, you can use the subject headings for that item to find similar materials -- often by clicking on them.

And after a keyword search in a catalogue or database, you can sometimes limit your search results by Subject (subject heading).

More help

For more help with subject headings, Ask a Librarian.