When you're conducting research in a library, you will come across the word field numerous times. In the context of libraries and research, a field is part of a record in a database--a bibliographic one--for books, articles, and other resources. Searchable fields for bibliographic records include the following:
When you're searching in a database, it can be beneficial to utilize the search fields to retrieve more precise results relevant to your topic. An example of this might be using the author field when you're looking for books or articles written by a particular author, rather than looking for resources written about the author in question.
To access the database fields, look for a drop-down menu which will contain a list of available fields to search. You can utilize Boolean Operators to your advantage to create more complex search strings. Leaving a field with no specific designation will tell the database to treat it as a keyword search, which means it will search for your words throughout the record.
As demonstrated by the above search, entering gender identity and changing the drop-down to the subject field can retrieve specific resources, such as the above article on providing gender-sensitive care in psychiatric nursing.