You have already learned that each record in a database contains fields (which vary according to the database you are searching). Some common fields are: Author, Title, Journal Name. You have already used field searching if you have ever searched in the library catalog by Title or Author.

Searching by field is a good way to make your search more precise. The field searching features will look different on different search systems, but they will be there!

Many search systems allow field searching in the Advanced mode. In the search box, there may be a drop-down menu that allows you to specify in which field you want your search term to appear. Here is an example from PsycINFO in EbscoHost:

"Select a Field (optional)" is the default setting. Leaving it at this setting will find articles where the word "bully" is in the author, subject, keyword, title, or abstract fields.

To broaden, you could select "TX All Text" which searches any text fields in the full record (which may or may not include the full text article).

TIP: In cases when there are too many items retrieved from a keyword search, you might try limiting your search to the "TI Title" field. This will definitely narrow the search results, and may produce more relevant results.