Words used to describe the subject of the record. Words used are chosen from a restricted list, thus avoiding problems of spelling and words with more than one meaning. Done properly by both indexers and searchers, this often results in the most accurate searches. Syn. Subject headings, Controlled vocabulary
Subject headings developed for a specific . An example would be the ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) descriptors.
these are simple words or phrases used to describe the subject of a record.
Also known as subject headings, these are used to describe the main content or topic of a publication. Subject headings are usually derived from a controlled vocabulary of terms to which indexers must adhere to ensure consistency of content description.
Words or phrases used as Subject Headings.
Words or phrases assigned to books and articles to index these items by topic. Also called subject headings.
Descriptor is another word for subject heading.
Terms assigned by compilers of a database to describe the subject content of a document. Descriptors are chosen so that all of the work on a particular topic can be found with a single word or phrase, even though there may be many different ways of expressing the same idea. For example, the PsycINFO database uses academic achievement as a descriptor to help researchers locate texts on the subject of scholastic achievement or grade-point average. See also subject heading.