Search tips

Become an effective online searcher by using common search techniques that can be applied to almost any database, including library catalogues and commercial search engines.

These techniques will enable you to quickly retrieve relevant information from the thousands of records in a database.

Once you have formulated your question using PICO (or PICo/PIER) consider the following:

Think about alternative terms for each concept (e.g. walk or gait or ambulate)
Your search terms should closely relate to your PICO concepts
For help finding suitable alternative terms refer to a health encyclopedia or dictionary, or the scope note within health databases (e.g. Medline)
Your search terms are not only based on your familiarity with the topic but by trial and error and practice

Turbo Charge Your Library Database Search!

Combine your concepts

Use OR and AND to join up your concepts. This is essential for successful searching. These linking terms are also known as Boolean Operators:

OR - widens your search as any of the terms will be present in your results. Use OR to include different synonyms for your concept, e.g. aged OR elderly
AND - narrows your search as all terms must be present in each result. Use AND to combine different concepts, e.g. diabetes AND smoking
NOT can also be used to exclude words from your search but use with care as it may stop you retrieving relevant results, e.g.football NOT rugby

Watch how AND, OR & NOT can connect your search terms (i.e. keywords) together which can save you time when searching for resources.