Controlled vocabulary

How it is used

Use database descriptors alongside free-text searching.

Example sentences

1. The controlled vocabulary groups several everyday names under one subject heading.

   Standard headings unite records with varied wording.

2. A new topic may be missing from the database's controlled vocabulary.

   Indexing terms can lag behind emerging research.

Common collocations

• use controlled vocabulary
• controlled vocabulary terms

Related terms

• databaseAn online collection of records for journal articles, books and other publications that researchers can search to find literature.
• keywordOne of a small set of words or short phrases listed under an abstract to describe the main topics of a paper and help people find it in databases.

More terms: Literature Review

• literature review
• literature
• research gap
• theoretical framework
• seminal
• synthesize
• draw on
• build on
• primary source
• secondary source
• systematic review
• meta-analysis