MeSH - Different Locations
of Terms and Their Use
Some terms occur in more than one
place in the MeSH tree (hierarchy). How does this matter when choosing terms for
searches? The answer is - context. The number of hits (or retrieval) is the same,
and so are the actual references. The difference lies in the way you broaden your
search, if the need arises. Many MeSH terms have more than one location on the
tree, and the scope of your research determines which broader term you need to
choose. Let us look at a few examples.
| Terms | Location
1 - Broader term | Location 2 - Broader term | Location
3 - Broader term | | Diabetic
foot | Diabetic angiopathies | Leg ulcer | Diabetic
neuropathies | | Pain | Neurological
manifestations | Signs and symptoms | Sensation |
In each case, if a person needs to broaden his / her research, he or she will
have to choose a broader term relevant to the kind of work he or she does. For
instance in the first case, a cardiologist will choose the term in location 1,
and a dermatologist may choose that in location 2, and a neurologist would choose
option 3. An example of such a requirement would be a search for the use of trazodone
in Diabetic foot.
A search (date - Aug 2005) on trazodone in the treatment
of diabetic foot yields only one result.
Repeat the search with each higher
term - and a search on Diabetic neuropathies AND trazodone yields three results
A similar example would be a search on beta-carotene. If one wishes to get
more references, use carotenoids. So, once again we stress, do a Medline
or information search using thesaurus terms, and the way you can broaden your
search activities changes!
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