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Also, the first draft should not be considered the final or near-final version. Library Home Research
Guides Literature Search Basics Develop a search strategy. Choose search terms Start by writing
down as many terms as you can think of that relate to your question. Studies with fewer than 30
patients were excluded unless the study addressed a subject of particular interest, or where there
was a paucity of information. A djacency searching commands differ among databases. If no
relevant thesaurus terms have been found for an element, free-text terms can be used, and possible
thesaurus terms found in the resulting references can be added later (step 11). Your search strategy
will include: keywords boolean operators variations of search terms (synonyms, suffixes) subject
headings Your search strategy may include: truncation (where applicable) phrases (where applicable)
Researching for your literature review: Develop a search strategy Start developing a search strategy
by identifying the key words and concepts within your research question. A search strategy helps
prevent that, by using punctuation and keywords to make the database understand exactly what you
want. If you are worried about whether you are conducting a complete search of all the literature or
not, make an appointment with your Faculty Librarian who can show you some very useful tips on
how to modify your searches so that you waste less time, get more effective results and overall,
cause less frustration for yourself. Their conclusions should be regarded with greater skepticism than
previously published research. Adding such an overlapping element could lead to missing relevant
references. Then, find appropriate books in the library and check them out. The synthesis of multiple
high-quality studies creates a single product out of all the best known evidence. These are frequently
used in Lit Reviews since they offer concise, up-to-date information. A search strategy and search
results should be documented throughout the searching process. It deserves capitals, because it is
truly one of the beasts of academic writing. An annotated Works Cited list, on the other hand, is just
an alphabetized list of sources with summaries and evaluations (annotations). Most databases allow
you to search for phrases, but check the database guide if you are unsure. An official website of the
United States government The.gov means it’s official. It should be used with caution as you may
inadvertently exclude relevant references. Should patients currently in the workforce maintain
working activity? 15. You should combine both subject headings and keywords in your search
strategy for each of the concepts you identify. While this is useful for demonstrating how theories
evolve, make sure to include your own interpretation of trends, turning points, or disagreements,
demonstrating how they contributed shape where the subject is headed. As an example, you work in
an aged care facility and are interested in whether cranberry juice might help reduce the common
occurrence of urinary tract infections. Many people would prefer to sit down and read an article than
sit down and craft what they have already read. This record could be a document, table or
spreadsheet with: The names of the sources you search and which provider you accessed them
through - eg Medline (Ovid), Web of Science (Thomson Reuters). Using appropriate subject headings
enhances your search and will help you to find more results on your topic. Phrase searching
complicates the process and is more specific, with the higher risk of missing relevant articles, and
using Boolean “AND” combinations increases sensitivity but at an often high loss of specificity.
Schematic representation of translation between databases used at Erasmus University Medical
Center Dotted lines represent databases that are used in less than 80% of the searches. MD Anderson
faculty and staff can also request a one-on-one consultation with a librarian or scientific editor.
Furthermore, this section shifts the emphasis from broad perspectives to a single aspect of the
investigation. Second, the number of terms in Emtree (the Embase thesaurus) is three times as high
as that of MeSH (the MEDLINE thesaurus). Overlapping elements Elements in a question
sometimes overlap in their meaning. We advise restricting the initial terms to the most important and
most relevant terms. Later in the process, more general terms can be added in the optimization
process, in which the effect on the number of hits, and thus the desirability of adding these terms,
can be evaluated more easily. Any change to the search strategy should be done in the log document,
assuring that the search strategy in the log is always the most recent. 7. Identify appropriate index
terms in the thesaurus of the first database Searches should start by identifying appropriate thesaurus
terms for the desired elements. Different areas of your study may be divided into subsections that
focus on specific aspects of your topic. This comprehensive range of resources includes over 3,000
records across seven publication types: Evidence Based Recommended Practices, Evidence
Summaries, Best Practice Information Sheets, Systematic Reviews, Consumer Information Sheets,
Systematic Review Protocols, and Technical Reports. Thus, all articles that describe a certain
narrower topic in their titles and abstracts will already be retrieved before MeSH terms are added. 9.
Add variations in search terms (e.g., truncation, spelling differences, abbreviations, opposites)
Truncation allows a searcher to search for words beginning with the same word stem. Subject
headings (index terms) Identify appropriate subject headings (index terms). Adjacency searching Use
adjacency operators to search by phrase or with two or more words in relation to one another. This is
the situation when you are asked to investigate the existing state of research on your issue and then
analyze and synthesize your results. In this way, the bibliography is the window to the author and the
paper. Depending on your topic of study, their published findings can be a valuable source of
knowledge. Our method, instead, uses single-line searches, which is critical to its success. A search
strategy is an organized combination of keywords, phrases, subject headings, and limiters used to
search a database. If a publication or agency does not require one, submitting one is optional, but
writing one as part of the process is fundamental. It is based on a desktop program that syncs back
and forth to the cloud. Cited Reference Searching Cited reference searching is a method to find
articles that have been cited by other publications. The library also offers a workshop called “
Improving your literature search strategy.”. Let’s start with the obvious: Google does not have all the
answers. Documenting searches for traditional (narrative) literature reviews is not essential but will
help you stay organized and perhaps save you some time. Creating search strategies for systematic
reviews, finding the best balance between sensitivity and specificity, and translating search strategies
between databases is challenging. PubMed - US National Library of Medicine, NIH Provides access
to citations for biomedical articles from Medline and life science journals. It helps plan and specify
how you will navigate the systematic review process and stay on course. Advantages of subject
searching: Helps locate articles that use synonyms, variant spellings, plurals Search terms don’t have
to appear in the title or abstract Note: Subject headings are often unique to a particular database, so
you will need to look for appropriate subject headings in each database you intend to use.
ClinicalTrials.gov Database of clinical trials sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, other
Federal agencies and the pharmaceutical industry. Should treatment interventions be re-evaluated
and at which frequency? OUTCOME 11. As an example, you work in an aged care facility and are
interested in whether cranberry juice might help reduce the common occurrence of urinary tract
infections. There are two main ways to search the database: --- select General Search to search for
articles by subject term, author name, journal title, or author affiliation --- select Cited Reference
Search to search for articles that cite an author or article that you specify. Exclusion and merger
following removal of duplicates yielded 363 citations which were then further screened by their
abstracts.
Most databases simply follow the structure set by the Embase.com search strategy. The translation
from Emtree terms to MeSH terms for MEDLINE in Ovid often identifies new terms that need to be
added to the Embase.com search strategy before the translation to other databases. Because books
take longer to publish than journal articles, they are typically out of date. Let’s start with the obvious:
Google does not have all the answers. A search strategy should be tested for completeness. This first
post is a general overview of the literature review. Check whether those references are retrieved by
the search. If articles (hypothetically or known) exist that can answer the question but lack a certain
element in their titles, abstracts, or keywords, that element is unimportant to the question. Our
method, instead, uses single-line searches, which is critical to its success. As part of the process of
developing a search strategy, it is recommended that you keep a master list of search terms for each
key concept. Using appropriate subject headings enhances your search and will help you to find more
results on your topic. Initially this table can start to be filled out when gathering literature, and then
further filled out when surveying and critiquing your literature. This way, the searcher is in control
of the whole process. Sometimes clues can be found in the number of results, either when the number
of results is much higher or lower than expected or when many retrieved references are not relevant.
What keywords or subject headings are causing them to appear. An element can also be unimportant
because of expected bias or an overlap with another element. What is new? This method encourages
searchers to start their search development process using empty syntax first and later adding the
thesaurus terms and free-text synonyms. We feel this helps the searcher to focus on the search terms,
instead of on the structure of the search query. Databases that were queried were Embase, Medline
and PsychInfo. Also, limitations of interfaces should be taken into account, especially in PubMed,
where the number of search term variations that can be found by truncation is limited to 600.
However, the number expected is often unknown, and very sensitive search strategies will always
retrieve many irrelevant articles. Whether an element is more specific or more general can be
measured objectively by the number of hits retrieved in a database when searching for a key term
representing that element. One good strategy to identify missing “OR”s is to go to the web page
containing the full search strategy, as translated by the database, and using Ctrl-F search for “AND.”
Check whether the occurrences of the “AND” operator are deliberate. Also consider singular and
plural forms of words, variant spellings, acronyms and relevant index terms (subject headings).
Newspaper articles tend to target a general (not specialized) audience; hence, they will not be of use
to your Lit Review. Until you go to the library and research all the sources you read and then look
over your writing for references to which sources you borrowed information from, the only way to
figure out where your information came from is to spend time at the library tracking down all the
sources you referenced. Likewise, if you’re a corporate office employee, you may be required to
conduct research. These are excellent for finding out about new research or study that hasn’t been
published yet. When searching for “disease recurrence,” articles about “disease free” may be
relevant as well. To add those terms to the first query (with reduced parentheses) requires adding
extra parentheses (meticulously placing and counting them), whereas, in the latter search, it only
requires proper placement of those terms. Many search methods highly depend on the PICO
framework. While this is useful for demonstrating how theories evolve, make sure to include your
own interpretation of trends, turning points, or disagreements, demonstrating how they contributed
shape where the subject is headed. For more information, see Types of Literature Reviews.
The practice of citing a source that you haven’t read directly is known as “grandfathering,” and it’s
not allowed. Translation of complex and exhaustive queries between different databases can be very
time consuming and cumbersome. This will make it easier when it comes to translating your search
strategy across multiple database platforms. Concept map template for documenting search terms
Combine search terms and concepts Boolean operators are used to combine the different concepts in
your topic to form a search strategy. Also problematic is that more parentheses are needed, making it
more difficult for the searcher and others to assess the logic of the search strategy. These are
frequently used in Lit Reviews since they offer concise, up-to-date information. Use the Please Log
In or Create an Account button to create a Cochrane account or connect an exising accountto the
University's subscription. See the Database search tips for details on phrase searching in key
databases, or check the Help link in any database. Adjacency searching Use adjacency operators to
search by phrase or with two or more words in relation to one another. You will need to test the
strategy along the way to ensure that you are finding relevant articles. Databases often show
Boolean operators as buttons or drop-down menus that you can click to combine your search terms
or results. This may necessitate a close examination of the citation. Key concepts from the research
question can be grouped to create elements in the search strategy. The library runs workshops for
introducing you to using Mendeley, including how to import references and manage them. Please
check your junk or spam folder in case this is misdirected. MEDLINE and Embase are available
through many different vendors and interfaces. If no relevant thesaurus terms have been found for
an element, free-text terms can be used, and possible thesaurus terms found in the resulting
references can be added later (step 11). Many people would prefer to sit down and read an article
than sit down and craft what they have already read. Until you go to the library and research all the
sources you read and then look over your writing for references to which sources you borrowed
information from, the only way to figure out where your information came from is to spend time at
the library tracking down all the sources you referenced. This is the situation when you are asked to
investigate the existing state of research on your issue and then analyze and synthesize your results.
In other words, a research article uses expert sources as support for your thesis, whereas a Literature
Review discusses the sources. For example, searching for articles on the economic history of
Australia, you can simply type in. Common syntax components include the use of parentheses and
Boolean operators such as “AND,” “OR,” and “NOT,” which are available in all major interfaces.
These hypothetical (when possible, combined with known) articles can be used as guidance for
constructing the search strategy. 3. Decide which key concepts address the different elements of the
question Key concepts are the topics or components that the desired articles should address, such as
diseases or conditions, actions, substances, settings, domains (e.g., therapy, diagnosis, etiology), or
study types. Creating search strategies for systematic reviews, finding the best balance between
sensitivity and specificity, and translating search strategies between databases is challenging.
However, during the optimization process, the searcher is likely to find extra synonyms that might
consist of one word. PubMed - US National Library of Medicine, NIH Provides access to citations
for biomedical articles from Medline and life science journals. This first post is a general overview of
the literature review. The search can be more focused by combining the abbreviation with an
important word that is relevant to its meaning or by using the Boolean “NOT” to exclude frequently
observed, clearly irrelevant results. As part of the process of developing a search strategy, it is
recommended that you keep a master list of search terms for each key concept. Also, limitations of
interfaces should be taken into account, especially in PubMed, where the number of search term
variations that can be found by truncation is limited to 600.
When adding terms to an existing search strategy, pay close attention to the position of the cursor.
The elements to use in a search strategy can be found in the plot of elements in Figure 1, by
following the top row from left to right. Apart from the syntax (especially Boolean operators and
field codes) of the search strategy, it is wise to have the search terms checked by the clinician or
researcher familiar with the topic. Web-based software (e.g., Google Docs or Google Sheets ) should
be considered for collaborative projects. A current literature study I’m working on, for example,
investigates impediments to higher education for undocumented students. It should be used with
caution as you may inadvertently exclude relevant references. Check out the Database Help guide
for more tips on Boolean Searching. It is meant to convince the reader of the importance of your
study. For this method, we recommend starting with the most important and specific elements. Use
Boolean logic to combine search terms Boolean operators (AND, OR and NOT) allow you to try
different combinations of search terms or subject headings. Databases contain references to articles
using both standard British and American English spellings. More than 60% of titles are from
countries other than the US Abstracts go back to 1966. Any change to the search strategy should be
done in the log document, assuring that the search strategy in the log is always the most recent. 7.
Identify appropriate index terms in the thesaurus of the first database Searches should start by
identifying appropriate thesaurus terms for the desired elements. This method helps information
specialists in developing librarian-mediated searches for systematic reviews as well as medical and
health care practitioners who are searching for evidence to answer clinical questions. Containment in
healthcare system and cost effectiveness 16. Elements in a search strategy do not necessarily follow
the patient, intervention, comparison, outcome (PICO) structure or any other related structure. Our
methodology works best if used in an interface that allows proximity searching. Searching for
thesaurus terms NOT free-text terms will help identify missed free-text terms in the title or abstract.
You will need to test the strategy along the way to ensure that you are finding relevant articles. They
may have ideas about terms or concepts you may have missed. Type the syntax (Boolean operators,
parentheses, and field codes) before adding terms, which reduces the chance that errors are made in
the syntax, especially in the number of parentheses. Schema for determining the optimal order of
elements Bias in elements The choice of elements in a search strategy can introduce bias through use
of overly specific terminology or terms often associated with positive outcomes. For each concept list
the key words derived from your research question, as well as any other relevant terms or synonyms
that you have found in your preliminary searches. Library Calendar Log in to the Library's remote
access system using your MyID account. It is based on a desktop program that syncs back and forth
to the cloud. Use predefined proximity structures including parentheses, such as (() ADJ3 ()) in
Ovid, that can be reused in the query when necessary. Basic search strategies will be created to use in
many, mostly smaller, databases, because such niche databases often do not have extensive thesauri
or advanced syntax options. For an overview of Mendeley, have a look at the video below. Web-
based software (e.g. MUSC Box, Google Docs or Google Sheets ) should be considered for
collaborative projects. Databases that were queried were Embase, Medline and PsychInfo.
Allow yourself as many changes as you need to adjust your ideas and material in order to better
comprehend the context of your research challenge. How should patients with FM contribute to their
management? 8 What are the benefits of patient education regarding understanding and management
of FM? 9. These hypothetical (when possible, combined with known) articles can be used as
guidance for constructing the search strategy. 3. Decide which key concepts address the different
elements of the question Key concepts are the topics or components that the desired articles should
address, such as diseases or conditions, actions, substances, settings, domains (e.g., therapy,
diagnosis, etiology), or study types. The editors will have a look at it as soon as possible. It deserves
capitals, because it is truly one of the beasts of academic writing. I really learnt a lot and managed to
retrieve all the relevant journal articles I needed!”. Sources not directly cited in the Lit Review
should not be listed in the Works Cited list. The authors have established a method that describes
step by step the process of developing a systematic search strategy as needed in the systematic
review. This allows you to organize your thoughts and discoveries into a logical totality. The easiest
solution for combining these terms for a sensitive search is to use such a thesaurus term in all
elements where it is relevant. This is a prime example of an organisation requiring to adapt and being
flexible in a changing environment in order to remain relevant and competitive (Prahalad and Hamel,
1990: 1). When the desired outcome is survival, articles about mortality may be relevant. 10. Use
database-appropriate syntax, with parentheses, Boolean operators, and field codes Different
interfaces require different syntaxes, the special set of rules and symbols unique to each database
that define how a correctly constructed search operates. However, as parentheses and field codes are
typed before the search terms are added (step 10), errors in parentheses can be prevented. The library
also offers a workshop called “ Improving your literature search strategy.”. Each query should,
therefore, be checked for errors. PICO is a search framework commonly used in the health sciences
to focus clinical questions. Apart from checking these protocol databases, search UM Library
databases like PubMed, CINAHL, or PsycINFO. The purpose of the Lit Review is to present a
survey of the most relevant and noteworthy published work that relates to your research, rather than
a synopsis of all published work that related to your topic. An easier way is just to drop us a message
on our Live ChatBox on the bottom right of the page. Single-line search strategies can be easily
adapted by adding or dropping a term without having to recode numbers of record sets, which would
be necessary in multi-line searches. A good starting point for a search is hypothesizing what the
research that can answer the question would look like. These are selected from a controlled list and
describe what the article is about. It includes full-text indexing of drug, disease and medical device
data, supported by the Embase thesaurus Emtree, which facilitates precise searching so users may
find the answers they need to their research questions. The described method can be used to create
complex and comprehensive search strategies for different databases and interfaces, such as those
that are needed when searching for relevant references for systematic reviews, and will assist both
information specialists and practitioners when they are searching the biomedical literature.
Commonly used tools include desktop or web-based word processors and spreadsheet software.
Phrase searching decreases the number of results you get. For the first two parts see Slaying the
(literature review) beast: Part 1 and Slaying the (literature review) beast: Part 2. Should treatment
interventions be re-evaluated and at which frequency? OUTCOME 11. What is new? This method
encourages searchers to start their search development process using empty syntax first and later
adding the thesaurus terms and free-text synonyms. We feel this helps the searcher to focus on the
search terms, instead of on the structure of the search query. If the interface allows relevance ranking,
use that in the evaluation.
Sometimes concepts from different parts of the PICO structure can be grouped together into one
search element, such as when the desired outcome is frequently described in a certain study type. 4.
Decide which elements should be used for the best results Not all elements of a research question
should necessarily be used in the search strategy. Searching for thesaurus terms NOT free-text terms
will help identify missed free-text terms in the title or abstract. Because books take longer to publish
than journal articles, they are typically out of date. Additionally, each database you search is
developed differently. On the other hand, a question that is too specific will result into too few or
even zero search results. In MEDLINE (Ovid), PsycINFO (Ovid), and CINAHL (EBSCOhost), the
thesaurus terms must be adapted manually, as each database has its own custom thesaurus. Is it
trying to say that what you are studying is niche or has been studied in the past but not in the same
way. Using the Cochrane methodology, the course is perfect for new and experienced review
authors alike. At Erasmus MC, macros based on the find-and-replace method in Microsoft Word
have been developed for easy and fast translation between the most used databases for biomedical
and health sciences questions. Let’s start with the obvious: Google does not have all the answers.
Use thesaurus terms separately from free-text terms of each element. These are useful, particularly
for current information. PICO can be adapted to PICOT (which adds T ime) or PICOS (which adds
S tudy design), or PICOC (adding C ontext). How should physicians discuss outcome goals with
patients? 13. Top right quarter select library resources to search and rectangle describing resources to
search library catalogue relevant journal articles and other resource. Several factors can complicate
the identification of thesaurus terms. Sometimes, one thesaurus term is found that exactly describes a
specific element. What is new? This method encourages searchers to start their search development
process using empty syntax first and later adding the thesaurus terms and free-text synonyms. We
feel this helps the searcher to focus on the search terms, instead of on the structure of the search
query. All students are strongly encouraged to complete the PICO and Search Strategy Worksheet
before attending their consultation sessions. Your search strategy will include: keywords boolean
operators variations of search terms (synonyms, suffixes) subject headings Your search strategy may
include: truncation (where applicable) phrases (where applicable) limiters (date, language, age,
publication type, etc.) A search strategy usually requires several iterations. The purpose of the Lit
Review is to present a survey of the most relevant and noteworthy published work that relates to
your research, rather than a synopsis of all published work that related to your topic. If you are
worried about whether you are conducting a complete search of all the literature or not, make an
appointment with your Faculty Librarian who can show you some very useful tips on how to modify
your searches so that you waste less time, get more effective results and overall, cause less
frustration for yourself. An element can also be unimportant because of expected bias or an overlap
with another element. Web sources are searched via Scirus, and include author homepages,
university sites and resources such as the preprint servers CogPrints and ArXiv.org, and OAI
compliant resources. Sometimes clues can be found in the number of results, either when the number
of results is much higher or lower than expected or when many retrieved references are not relevant.
When searching for “disease recurrence,” articles about “disease free” may be relevant as well.
Single-line search strategies can be easily adapted by adding or dropping a term without having to
recode numbers of record sets, which would be necessary in multi-line searches. In this way, the
bibliography is the window to the author and the paper. Until you go to the library and research all
the sources you read and then look over your writing for references to which sources you borrowed
information from, the only way to figure out where your information came from is to spend time at
the library tracking down all the sources you referenced. It is easier to find MeSH terms after all
relevant Emtree terms have been identified than to start with MeSH and translate to Emtree. We are
a strong believer in academic integrity and have a “zero tolerance policy” on plagiarism.