Why is the "Apply equivalent subjects" search option applied by default in EBSCOHost?

There are a number of search options available in EBSCO interfaces. These are designed to support effective searching.

The settings we apply are different between EBSCOHost and the Hub (EBSCO Discovery Service) reflecting the different type of searches being supported in the two interfaces. Generally there are more search supports applied to the Hub than EBSCOHost.

The exception is "Apply equivalent subjects" which is applied to EBSCOHost.

This is viewed by EBSCO as a core part of the interface experience and it has long been the default on NHS versions of EBSCOHost (a small amount of variation was discovered in 2025 but this was discovered to be unintentional and practice was standardised). It is also likely to be in place at other organisations completing advanced searching.

The "Apply equivalent subjects" tool is only applied to unqualified searches - if you search against any specific fields or complete a Subject (SU) type search it is not applied. As such it is likely to have an impact in a relatively small number of circumstances for advanced searchers.

For more detail see the EBSCO Connect article "What is the Apply Equivalent Subjects expander?"

The "Apply equivalent subjects" option should be left in place for NHS users.