Common Search Techniques
If you have too many results:
- Add in additional search terms
- Limit to peer-reviewed journals
- Limit by date
- Limit by subject
- Limit to items with full-text availability
If you have too few results:
- Check spelling and make corrections
- Erase unnecessary search terms
- Try different search terms
- Use the Boolean operator "OR" between search terms
- Remove any limits you may have added in an earlier search
- Change your OneSearch search from Everything (Saybrook Library materials) to Beyond My Library (Interlibrary Loan)
- Searching Techniques PPT illustrating various search techniques
Finding Evidence-Based Articles
Evidence-based practice refers to using the best available evidence for decision-making and providing efficient and effective care for patients on a scientific basis. Systematic implementation of EBP can enhance healthcare and improve patient outcomes.
Most health science databases include a search limiter for evidence-based practice or evidence-based medicine. In CINAHL Complete, click the Evidence-Based Practice box or choose Evidence-Based Practice under Special Interest. Both of these options apply the same limits to the search.
The Evidence-Based Practice journal subset is applied to articles from evidence-based practice journals as well as articles about evidence-based practice, research articles (including systematic reviews, clinical trials, meta analyses, qualitative studies), commentaries on research studies (applying practice to research), case studies if they meet the criteria of the use of research and/or evidence-based practice terms.
You can search for evidence-based articles in other databases, too, but non-subject specific databases may not have a designated limiter. One way to search is to search for your topic but then add the term AND "evidence based" with quotation marks to search evidence based as a phrase rather than as independent words. Example: microbiota AND "evidence based":
The term evidence based may also be searched as a Subject term in many databases. Select the field limiter from the dropdown menu after the search word. Here is the same sample search in our multidisciplinary database, Academic Search Ultimate:
Results will include articles categorized by publishers as evidence based, such as evidence-based nursing, evidence-based medicine, etc.
MeSH - Medical Subject Headings
MeSH is a controlled vocabulary used to label articles in MEDLINE (the database that makes up the bulk of PubMed.) Terms are applied by trained indexers. Searching with MeSH will give you more precise results that are more relevant because articles tagged with MeSH are about that topic as opposed to incidentally matching your search term somewhere in the available text fields as happens with keyword searching.
To find MeSH:
1. Search and browse the MeSH Thesaurus directly. It is accessible to search and browse from the PubMed homepage under Explore.
It can be useful to browse MeSH directly so you can see if there are narrower terms that will be included with your selected term or if there are applicable broader terms that will provide better coverage. You can also find subheadings to apply to your search to make it even more specific. To start, search for a term:
You'll see a definition of the term, available subheadings, related terms, and nested links. The MeSH vocabulary is arranged in a nested hierarchy, going from more general to more specific terms.
Applicable subheadings are available for selection. This limits the search to only that particular facet of the MeSH term. For example, if you only wanted results on diet therapy for irritable bowel syndrome, select that subheading.
Use the PubMed Search Builder to create your search. With your checked terms, click Add to search builder. Use AND for any other terms and then click Search PubMed to run the search.
Now you can review your results.
2. Find MeSH terms in relevant articles from your existing search results.
If you already found an article that you like, look at the MeSH terms associated with it in the index record or at the bottom of the article. This will give you more MeSH terms to search.
If you click the > next to a term, you can Search in PubMed, Search in MeSH, or Add to Search:
