Glossary of Terms

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Thesaurus (Database):

A feature on a database that lists terms to use in a search that are more appropriate than the keywords first used. The thesaurus also suggests related terms and subject headings that are the official indexing language that the database uses. Eg. Search term of body language and the thesaurus may suggest non-verbal communication.



Truncation:

Many search engines and databases that use keyword searching allow the user to search for any words that start with the same sequence of letters or same root word by placing a symbol at the end. Eg. market* retrieves all the words marketing, marketable, marketed, markets. Using truncation means you save search time and ensures you get full coverage of a subject. Symbols used for truncation are usually a *, ? or !.

Truncation (wildcards) can also be used in the middle of a word to replace one letter, if you are unsure of spelling. Eg. organi?ation will retrieve both organization and organisation.