The
College of St. Scholastica Library Lab
Worksheet Three: Finding Books |
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Many Facets of Your Research Can Have Many Different Subject Headings |
There is not necessarily one subject
heading that is the right one for your topic. Obviously, if your topic is
“midwives” and there is a subject heading for “midwives” it is probably an
appropriate subject heading.
Let’s use
a “homey” analogy to think about selecting a subject heading. Imagine you
have purchased a turn of the century house (1900, not 2000!) and you wish
to redo the kitchen in period style, thereby removing the 1950s makeover
it currently suffers from.
Your topic
is “redoing the kitchen” and you can problem find books on just that topic.
But you could
also use books with broader headings, such as “Victorian homes,” or “Queen
Ann style” or “restoring an older home” in order to get a general feel for
what the architecture of the period looked like.
You might
need narrower headings such as “Choosing a new range – gas or electric?”
or “Refrigerators – Energy efficiency ratings” in order to get the most appliance
for your money.
And finally
you might need related headings, like “Installing a vinyl floor” or “Basic
facts about windows” for more detailed information about a specific aspect
of “redoing the kitchen.”
Don’t “freeze
up” and think there is one and only one subject heading you need to find.
Think about the different facets of your paper’s topic and use your common
sense.
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