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Nursing: Research Tips

Search Strategies

How Search Strategies Work 

 

Search Strategy

What it does

Example

AND

(Boolean Operator)

All terms must appear

Narrows your search

Fewer results

Use to include multiple unique concepts

“coffee AND Brazil” searches for all articles that include both terms, coffee and Brazil

OR

(Boolean Operator)

Either term may appear

Broadens your search

More results

Use for related concepts

“coffee OR caffeine” searches for either term in the articles

NOT

(Boolean Operator)

Removes a term from your search

Narrows your search

Fewer results

Use for concepts you do not want to include

“South America NOT Brazil” searches for articles on South America and removes articles with the word Brazil in them

Phrases

Search for exact phrases

Narrows your search

Fewer results

“ecological tourism” searches for that phrase in that particular order

Truncation

Searches for all forms of a word

Broadens your search

More results

Use to search for the root word of a concept

Add an asterisk * to the root or stem of a word

A search for “tour*” will look for tour, tourism, tourist

 

Using Boolean Operators

 

Using Limits in Your Search

What are limits and why use them?

Limits are helpful in focusing your search.  Once you've done your initial search you can use some limits to help you narrow your results to a more manageable amount of information.

  • Date:  limit results to a specific time frame
  • Peer review:  limit to only peer-reviewed articles
  • Full text:  find only the articles available in full text  **TIP:  you can request an article that isn't available through Interlibrary Loan
  • Publication type:  limit results to meta analysis, reviews, systematic reviews, research articles, and evidence based practice.

Subject Terms to Consider

Below is a list of subjects that often relate to nursing issues.  Considering these subject terms can help you develop a topic or focus your search.

 

Evidence Based Practice & the Research Process

Systematic Reviews & Meta Analysis

What are Systematic Reviews & Meta Analyses?

Systematic Review
"A systematic review attempts to identify, appraise and synthesize all the empirical evidence that meets pre-specified eligibility criteria to answer a given research question"  (The Cochrane Library)

Meta Analysis
Meta analysis is "a statistical synthesis of the numerical results of several trials which all address the same question" (Greenhalgh, 2010, p.121).

Where do I find Systematic Reviews & Meta Analyses?

The Cochrane Library and JBI - Ovid are primary resources for finding meta analysis and systematic reviews.  However they can also be found in PubMed and Health - EBSCO databases.

Literature Reviews