Guides: Health Sciences Literature Searching Basics: Glossary

Introduction
Step 1: Research questions
Step 2: Database searching
Step 3: Build your search strategy
- Database Specific Operators and Fields
- Video tutorials on searching
Step 4: Evaluate your results
Step 5: Manage your references
Glossary
- Health Sciences Basics Glossary

Health Sciences Searching Basics Glossary

Below is a list of terms and phrases you’ll find in this guide, along with others you may come across during your research. Select a term to view its definition in a popup window. Each definition opens on the same page and includes a close option for easy navigation.

Citation Chaining

Citation chaining is a research method that helps you find useful sources by following connections between them. There are two main ways to do this. “Backward chaining” means looking at the reference list of a source you like to find past, related sources. “Forward chaining” involves checking newer sources that have cited the one you found valuable.

Controlled Vocabulary

A controlled vocabulary is a standardized selected list of terms used to describe and categorize content in a consistent way. It helps ensure that information can be accurately and efficiently found in databases, catalogues, or search systems. Examples include the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) used in academic and medical databases.
Visit this FAQ page for more information on controlled vocabularies

Database

A database is an organized collection of information or data that is stored electronically and designed for quick and efficient retrieval. In academic settings, you'll most often use databases to find scholarly resources, such as journal articles, research papers, and other academic publications.

Explode

When you explode a subject heading in a database, you're telling the database to search not only for that main subject but also for all the more specific (or narrower) terms related to it. These narrower terms are part of the same subject "tree" or hierarchy.
Visit this FAQ page to see how 'exploding' affects your search

Facet

A facet is a specific part or aspect of a larger subject. Facets help break down broad topics into more detailed areas, making it easier to narrow your search. For example, molecular genetics is a facet of the broader topic genetics. Other examples of facets include filter options like age group or gender.

Full-text Access

When you have full-text access, it means you can view the entire content of a document, including all text, images, tables, etc. This is in contrast to only having access to the abstract or citation information.

Grey Literature

Grey literature refers to information that is not traditionally or formally published in books or academic journals. Examples include theses and dissertations, conference proceedings, clinical trial registries, white papers, government reports, and more.
Visit this LibGuide page on supplemental searching for help finding grey literature.

Index

An index, also called a citation or bibliographic index, is an organized list of records that provides key details about each item, such as the author, title, subject(s), and publication information.

Keyword

Keywords are plain-text terms or phrases that represent important topics or concepts in your research.
Visit this FAQ page for more information on using keywords and subject headings

Lemmatization

Lemmatization is the process of reducing words to their base form so that different versions of a word are recognized as the same term during a search. For example, a search for run might also retrieve running and runs. This helps improve search results by including all relevant variations of a word.

Open Access

A publishing model in which online materials, such as journal articles, are freely available to anyone without subscription or payment barriers.
Visit the Open Access Resources LibGuide for more information

PICO

An acronym for a question formulation framework commonly used in health sciences to develop focused clinical research questions.
P = Population/Problem
I = Intervention
C = Comparison
O = Outcome

Platform

In the context of health sciences research, a platform is the system or software that hosts and provides access to multiple databases. For example, the platform, Ovid, provides access to the database, MEDLINE.

Taxonomy

A structured classification system used to organize information or data, often in a hierarchical way.

Thesaurus

A dictionary-like tool or type of controlled vocabulary used in databases to classify and organize information. It helps identify relationships between terms, such as synonyms, broader terms, or narrower terms.

Subheading

A narrower term related to a broader subject heading, used to add specificity when categorizing or searching for information. For example, "breast neoplasms" is a subheading under the broader subject heading "neoplasms."

Subject Heading

A standardized, pre-determined term or phrase from a controlled vocabulary used to describe a concept, allowing for more efficient and consistent searching in databases.
Visit this FAQ page for more information on using keywords and subject headings

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Content Authors

Please note: While this guide is managed by the Schulich Librarians, the contents of the guide were developed in collaboration with Yvon-Tani Jackson, MISt student (2026).