EBSCOhost databases

The thesaurus in CINAHL Plus is based on a tagging system called Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). Using it is very similar to using a thesaurus in other EBSCOhost databases but there are a few additional features. 

To access the CINAHL Plus thesaurus, click the CINAHL Headings tab (instead of the usual Subjects tab).

As usual, type in your topic and click the Search icon to view an alphabetical list of thesaurus terms for your topic. 

In this example we are searching for 'Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1'. Click the blue link to the term to explore the following features:

• Scope notes - at the top of the page is a definition of the thesaurus term, more details about which topics it is used to describe and how long the term has been in use as a term in CINAHL.
• Explode - you can select the Explode tickbox to the right of the term to automatically include the narrower terms in your search.
• Major Concept - you can select the Major Concept tickbox to the right of the term to focus your search to retrieve only articles where your selected subject heading is the main focus of the artlcle.
• Subheadings - you can use the small chevron icon on the right of the term to view a list of potential subheadings and make selections from the list if you wish. Selecting one or more subheadings will restrict your results to those that focus on a specific aspect of your topic. For example, you might select the subject heading 'Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1' and then tick the box alongside the subheading 'Prognosis/PR' to find articles that focus on the prognosis of type 1 diabetes.

When you have explored and selected the options you require, click Add to search at the top of the list of terms. Any terms you have selected will be transferred into the search box, combined with the search operator OR. Or you can use the drop-down menu to change the operator to AND, or NOT, if you wish. Click on Search and your search results will appear in the centre of the screen.

You can return to previous searches using the Recent activity link in the left-hand menu.

The CINAHL Plus database includes some extra content types. When you search for a topic, you will see tabs at the top of your results list labelled: Evidence-Based Care Sheets, Quick Lessons and Videos. Click these tabs to find out if there is any extra CINAHL Plus content for your topic.

This video from EBSCO introduces CINAHL/MeSH subject headings (3 mins 52 secs).