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10. Using thesaurus terms

A thesaurus is a hierarchical arrangement of subject terms in a research database. Most thesauri display the following terms (example):

• Broader, more general term(s)
• Narrower, more specific term(s)
• Related term(s)
• Synonym(s) used for the thesaurus term

A thesaurus helps to identify additional and/or more appropriate terms for your research (demo: early memories search in PsycINFO).

When you enter a word or phrase that is not found in the thesaurus, the database will suggest appropriate thesaurus terms. From the list of suggested thesaurus terms, you may select a single term or multiple terms (demo: teens search in ERIC).