Whats the difference between a keyword search and a subject search?
A keyword search brings up that word or phrase as it appears anywhere in the record. A subject search is more refined and brings up those items that are about the subject rather than just having the word or phrase appear in the records. For example, the word “earthquakes” as a subject search results in a list of 35 fiction and non-fiction titles (books and videos) that are about earthquakes. A keyword search results in 45 titles that may or may not be about earthquakes per se. While it may seem that the keyword search results in more titles, one then has to sort through the results to separate the relevant results from the less relevant.
