BIOL 460 (Westerkamp)

Identify two to three key concepts (terms) from your research question to build your search.

• Example:  Does taking aspirin help prevent heart attacks?  Key concepts: aspirin, "heart attacks" or aspirin, "heart attacks", prevention

Use quotations to keep exact phrases together in your search. 

• Examples:  "myocardial infarction" "heart attacks"

Use Boolean Operators AND or OR (all Caps) to connect search concepts (AND will narrow your search while OR will expand it​)

Use AND to connect distinct search concepts to narrow your search. 

• Example: Aspirin AND "Heart attacks".  This search will return literature that includes both search concepts in the article.

Use OR to to expand your search. OR's often link synonyms for a particular search concept to expand your results.

• Example: "Heart attacks" OR "myocardial infarction".  This search will return literature that includes either search concept in the article.

Use Filters to narrow your results.

• Consider commonly used filters such as Peer-Reviewed, Publication Date, Language 
• Use the Publication Type filter to limit results to Primary ('Case Study', 'Original Research', 'Randomized Controlled Trial' etc.) or Secondary sources ('Review', 'Systematic Review', etc.)

Consider a more advanced search strategy for bigger databases like CINAHL or PubMed with help from the "Building a Search Strategy" worksheet linked in this Course Guide.

Before you begin searching in large article databases such as CINAHL or PubMed, be sure to create an effective search strategy to obtain optimal results.  

Remember, we're here to help!  Don't look for more than 20 minutes.  Contact us!