Is keyword searching the answer?

Abstract

This study looks at three aspects of keyword searching to see if defaulting to keyword searches might serve as a solution to the problems people have with subject searches in online public access catalogs (OPACs). It investigates whether keyword searching produces useful results, if people who use keyword searches to find information on a subject say they are satisfied with the results, and how keyword searching and controlled vocabulary searching are offered and explained in currently available OPAC interfaces. The conclusion is that both keyword and controlled vocabulary searching ought to be easily available in an OPAC, and that improvements need to be made in explanations and help offered to subject searchers.