Search Strategy Development | Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library

Insights

Craft better research questions by using question development frameworks

We look at some popular question development frameworks, such as PICO (Patient/Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome), that can be used to help researchers hone their research question.

Filtering, limiting, and sorting: Managing large search results lists

Learn about how to overcome information overload and manage lengthy search results lists. We look at the nuances among filtering, limiting, and sorting features in databases.

Searching in the AccessMedicine database

AccessMedicine is a great database with 100s of ebooks, as well as multimedia, self-assessment, case studies, and more.

Knowledge Base Articles

Controlled vocabulary in databases

Learn how to find and use controlled vocabulary in select databases.

Developing a comprehensive search query

Five steps for developing and checking the effectiveness of a search strategy when working on a systematic or scoping review.

Explore a topic of interest with controlled vocabularies

Learn how to use controlled vocabularies and the subject heading record to explore a topic. See examples of MeSH terms, Emtree terms, and CINAHL Subject Headings.

How to use Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) to refine and expand searches

Learn how to best use Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) depending on the purpose of the literature search.

Preliminary topic investigation checklist for systematic and scoping reviews

How do you know if you've explored enough literature to ground your research project? This checklist can help guide you through the preliminary topic investigation at the start of a review.

Searching for alternatives to animal research

This article describes national and local requirements, resources, and strategies for locating and describing published evidence on alternatives to animal research.

Selecting bibliographic databases to search literature for a systematic review

Guidance on how to identify and select bibliographic databases to conduct searches and locate relevant reports of published studies for a systematic review.

Terminology harvesting: Tools and techniques for success

Terminology harvesting involves finding keywords and controlled vocabulary related to your research topic. This article discusses tools and techniques that will help you to be successful in this task.

Translating an initial search into other databases

Translating searches from one database to another database is required for many research projects. Here are some approaches to consider when working on a translation.

Programs

Information for Evidence-Based Practice

This Library workshop is designed for anyone that works in a clinical setting. Participants will learn strategies to determine appropriate levels of evidence to inform clinical questions, select resources to search for information, and critically appraise the evidence they find.

Introduction and Overview of Scoping Reviews

This introductory, discussion-based class will help you get started on your scoping review. Prior to attending, you will watch a JBI Scoping Review Network video to learn more about the methodology.

Library Research Skills

Starting a new research project? Wondering where to start your search for information? Join us for our Library Research Skills (formerly “Research Survival Skills") workshop!

Preliminary Topic Investigation for Systematic Reviews

This Library workshop is designed for anyone working on the initial steps of a systematic review. Participants will learn how to conduct a thorough preliminary topic investigation and make informed decisions for their review process.

The Write Stuff: Write Start

Start your thesis, capstone, or dissertation off strong with The Write Stuff: Write Start!

Tutorials

Advanced search functions in CINAHL.

Demo of advanced searching functions and features of CINAHL on EBSCOhost.

Building a search strategy by using PICO search feature in EMBASE

This tutorial explains and demonstrates use of PICO feature in EMBASE.

CINAHL basics.

Demo of the basic searching features and functions of CINAHL on EBSCOhost.

Exploring MeSH for Expert Searching

An exploration of how Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) are used for indexing MEDLINE records in PubMed. This tutorial is intended for PubMed searchers.

Managing search results in EMBASE.

Demo of options to manage search results in EMBASE.

Managing search results in OVID MEDLINE.

Demo of options to manage search results in OVID.

Mapping keywords to MeSH function in OVID MEDLINE

Demo of the mapping function in OVID MEDLINE.

PubMed Subject Search: How It Works

A brief NLM tutorial on how automatic term mapping and explosion function could enhance a PubMed search.

PubMed: Find Articles by Author

A brief NLM tutorial on how to find articles by a known author using PubMed.

PubMed: Find Articles on a Topic

A brief NLM tutorial on how to find articles on a topic using PubMed.

PubMed: Find the Latest Treatments for a Disease or Disorder

A brief NLM tutorial on how to find the latest treatments for a disease or disorder using PubMed

PubMed: Using the Advanced Search Builder

Learn from the National Library of Medicine experts how to use PubMed's Advanced Search features to refine your search with the example of a publication date range; and find journal and author names using the autocomplete feature.

Step 1: Building a search strategy in EMBASE.

Demo of how to build a comprehensive search strategy in EMBASE.

Using MeSH and CINAHL subject headings in CINAHL

Demo of how to use CINAHL/MeSH functionality in EBSCOhost.

Using PubMed in Evidence-Based Practice

Using PubMed in Evidence-Based Practice was created to help clinicians including nurses and allied health professionals develop a clinical question using the PICO framework and efficiently find relevant biomedical literature using PubMed. The tutorial was designed to be completed in less than 30 minutes.