In this section we will review the steps you take in order to perform an effective search using databases and other resources. Every search begins with a research question or topic. If you have not developed your research question or chosen your topic you will need to complete this first step.
Step 1: Develop a research question or choose a topic
Step 2: Identify the first step in your research process
Step 3: Develop your search strategy using PICO
Step 4: Brainstorm your search terms or identify terminology that must be included in your search
Step 5: Perform a preliminary search to determine if their is any literature on your topic (You can schedule an appointment with a librarian to assist you with performing your preliminary search.)
PICO is an acronym for
PICO is used to create a researchable question based on a clinical situation you have encountered. Based on your PICO question, you will identify keywords and/or subject terms to use in database searches.
You can use PICO to develop your research question.
Patient or population/disease: Which population are you studying? (Consider age, gender, ethnicity, group with a certain disorder, etc.)
Intervention, prognostic factor, or exposure: What do you want to do for the patient? (Consider therapy, exposure to a disease, risk behavior, prognostic factor, preventative measure, or diagnostic test)
Comparison or control: Are you comparing two interventions or variables? (Consider absence of disease, absence of risk factor, or use of placebo)
Outcome: What is the expected result or what do you hope to accomplish, improve or affect? (Consider disease incidence, accuracy of a diagnosis, rate of occurrence of adverse outcome, survival or mortality rates)What is the expected result or what do you hope to accomplish, improve or affect? (Consider disease incidence, accuracy of a diagnosis, rate of occurrence of adverse outcome, survival or mortality rates)
Sometimes you have reviewed resources online and through the Library, and need to consult:
You can use PICO to develop your search strategy.
Boolean Operators (Using AND, OR NOT)
Boolean logic is a building block of many computer applications and is an important concept in database searching. Using the correct Boolean operator can make all the difference in a successful search.
AND, OR, NOT
There are three basic Boolean search commands: AND, OR and NOT.
Using Boolean Search with Exact Phrases
If you're searching for a phrase rather than just a single word, you can group the words together with quotation marks. Searching on "dengue fever" will return only items with that exact phrase.
When to use parentheses?
Think of your search in concepts, then put those concepts inside parentheses. Different databases have different rules about combining searches. To make sure you get the search you want, use parentheses - every database follows those rules.
PICO | Brainstormed Search Terms | Search Strategy Using Boolean Operators |
Patient or population/disease: Which population are you studying? (Consider age, gender, ethnicity, group with a certain disorder) | ex. | |
Intervention, prognostic factor, or exposure: What do you want to do for the patient? (Consider therapy, exposure to a disease, risk behavior, prognostic factor, preventative measure, or diagnostic test) | ||
Comparison or control: Are you comparing two interventions or variables? (Consider absence of disease, absence of risk factor, or use of placebo) | ||
Outcome: What is the expected result or what do you hope to accomplish, improve or affect? (Consider disease incidence, accuracy of a diagnosis, rate of occurrence of adverse outcome, survival or mortality rates) |
Once you have developed your research question or chosen your topic you can begin to brainstorm terms to use in your database search.
Perform a preliminary search to determine what has been published on your topic or research question. The preliminary search is the point in the research process where you can identify a gap in the literature.
Use the search strategies above to help you get started.
If you have any questions or need help with developing your search strategy please schedule an appointment with a librarian. We are available to meet online and in-person.
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