Search strategy

Once you have formulated your question using PICO as in this example or any form of concept map, it's time to turn your question into a search strategy. To begin, consider the language used to describe the concepts:

• Think about alternative terms for each concept (e.g. cognitive behaviour therapy OR CBT)
• Your search terms should closely relate to your PICO concepts
• Check if there are variations in terminology depending on geographical location, e.g. physiotherapy (AUS) OR physical therapy (US)
• For help finding suitable alternative terms refer to a health encyclopedia or dictionary, the scope note within health databases (e.g. Medline, CINAHL, etc.), journal articles, professional associations, etc.

What is the efficacy of cognitive-behavioural therapy or family-based therapy or their combination in the treatment of ADHD in children?

For each concept, identify related keywords and synonyms, like in the example below:

Unlike Google or Google Scholar which uses an unknown algorithm to retrieve results based on your keyword search, content in many library databases is organised by subject terms and keywords. Effective library database searching involves the use of advanced search techniques and Boolean operators. 

Watch to find out how you can further improve your database searching. You'll be able to find more relevant resources, faster!

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.

 Below is an example of a search strategy for our research question:

What is the efficacy of cognitive-behavioural therapy or family-based therapy or their combination in the treatment of ADHD in children?

These search strategies have been designed and tested by search experts - they include 'filters' to limit your search to specific research designs.