Databases like ATLA look for keywords in the title, text, and abstract of articles. They might be names of people or places, theological concepts, or methods. This will produce a larger set of results which may or may not be relevant as some keywords are used across multiple different subjects.
Keywords are best used for getting started. Find a resource that fits what you are looking for, and then use it to find better search terms.
ATLA is built around “controlled vocabulary” - this means that all of the articles, essays, book reviews etc. on a given topic (e.g. the flood story in Genesis 6) will be assigned one (or more) uniform “subject term(s).”
Unfortunately, the creators did not always choose the most common language for subject terms. You can find the recognized subject terms in the left side column of the results pages or within an item's record. Click on a subject term to perform a new search that will pull all resources tagged with that subject term.
Begin your search with broad terms, find an item that is somewhat relevant, and then select the applicable subject term(s). This will let you search more effectively.
