On EBSCO resources, "apply equivalent subject terms" is a way of expanding your search to include related EBSCO subject terms to help find articles when you just use a term or phrase in a basic search that does not specify a field to search, such as title, subject or abstract.
For example you search for "workplace injury"
The search term "workplace injury" is recognised by EBSCO as being related to the subject concept "work-related injuries"
The subject concept "work-related injuries" is related to other subject terms in different subject term lists used in different resources:
- occupational injuries
- occupational-related injuries
- work-related injuries
Your search gets expanded to include the concepts above so items with those subject terms will be returned in your search. So instead of searching for
"workplace injury"
You are searching for
"workplace injury" or "occupational injuries" or "occupational-related injuries" or "work-related injuries"
Further Reading
ETBI Digital Library: Subject Terms
