Many of the articles indexed in databases are given descriptors or subject headings. These can be useful in refining your search or finding more articles on your topic.

For example, in our search on anthrax and biological weapons, the following record provides several new words and phrases that we can use to broaden or narrow our search, including "bacterial disease" or "biochemistry or bacteria."

While it is possible to conduct a subject search in most databases, it is sometimes difficult to know what the exact subject is. To find out the what the appropriate subjects/descriptors are for your topic, you can consult the thesaurus or subject heading list for the specific database you're using. You can also start with a keyword search and look at the full record of a relevant article to see what subjects are listed that may also be suited to your topic.