A)
1. 46 results found under “business” and “jobs”
a) Author, if given
Stephen E. Lambert
b)Title
Great Jobs for Business Majors
c) Edition
2nd edition
d)Place of publication
Chicago
e)Publisher
McGraw-Hill Trade
f)Date of publication
c2003
2. Ebrary source
LC Call Number: HF5382.7.L347 2003eb Dewey Decimal Number: 650.14
3. Job hunting.
Business students – Employment.
4. Business students – Employment
2 entries found
5. a) I had more entries found with the subject heading search over the key word search.
b) The first few results were very helpful in my subject heading search, however the helpfulness faded as I journeyed down the list. The Key word search focused on what I needed to research throughout all of the entries found. The topics in the subject heading search became vague and began having nothing to do with my topic whatsoever the first five or ten results.
c) The keyword search worked better for me because both of the words I searched for were important for my results. The keywords were located and brought out in the first search. In the subject heading search I found a lot on business, but not in the sense that I wanted information about. Business became a much too large topic to focus in on and I was led astray.
B) Keyword searches work a lot like the search engines when it comes to finding a book. The use of Boolean Operators is key in finding the sources that apply to your topic the best. I was able to search “business” AND “jobs” in order to find the perfect e-book to help me further my research. The subject heading search took my larger topic, business, and found information that suited it. I found many business sources, but used in so many different ways. It did not focus in on the jobs term and it was not as helpful. I feel that the key word search pinpoints information whereas the subject heading search gives you a vast overview of a topic.
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I had a look at the keyword results. Many of those weren't particularly related to your subject either. Keep in mind that if you didn't change the sort order, whether keyword or subject headings, the sort order is "relevance," so the items at the top of the list will be more related to your topic than those further down either list.
ReplyDeleteI then went to the book you chose and I can see why the heading you chose might not have yielded the types of results you wanted. The subject heading you chose, Business students--Employment, isn't really about business majors getting jobs. It's about business "students" getting jobs, while they're students mainly.
I then tried the other subject heading: Job hunting. You might have a look at it. I think you'd find the entries more relevant.
No matter how much you coordinate keywords and subject headings, you still have to make the right choices and that's not always easy.
In the end, for the most part, you will find that if you make the right choices, subject headings will serve you more effectively.
The reasons are twofold:
1. unlike keywords, which are simply a match between what you enter in the search box and the characters in the record, subject headings are pre-set and structured.
2. a human being, a librarian, reads the book and decides what the subject should be. S/he then assigns one or more of the pre-set headings. Next time you're in the library, go and take a quick look at the 5 volume set of subject headings behind the reference desk. You'll see what I mean.
Once the librarian decides on the subject or subjects of the book, s/he assigns specific headings in their specific structure to the book. That's why they all sit together on the shelves and also show up in your subject heading results list.
Your topic is actually very general, which is another challenge to finding meaningful subject headings.
The important thing to remember is that if you can master the use of them, they're the most valuable elements in the catalog.