Support : Publications : Chronolog Archives : July/August 2003

Thesaurus Mapping Enhanced in MEDLINE® on Dialog DataStarWeb

A new enhancement to MEDLINE on Dialog DataStarWeb enables Thesaurus mapping to operate more precisely.

The Thesaurus mapping feature is an excellent tool for finding the best search terms to use for a subject, especially when you don't know the preferred MEDLINE terminology. Enhanced Thesaurus mapping provides a ranked list of major descriptors for the word(s) you enter in the search box. For example, enter "heart attack" in the search box, and check the "Thesaurus mapping" box:

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Now click and the system will return a list of all major descriptors used to index the articles containing the words "heart attack." The major descriptors will be listed in order of most frequent first. Part of the list is represented below

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From this list you can click single or multiple terms to search, and/or add the "Explode," "Major" or "Subheadings" options. In this way, having started with a non-preferred term, you can quickly and easily find the right MeSH® headings and improve both the precision and the recall of your search.

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