TOPIC: How to Use the Library for Research

Citation Searching

Citation searching is a method to find articles that have been cited by other publications.

Use citation searching (or cited reference searching) to:

• find out whether articles have been cited by other authors
• find more recent papers on the same or similar subject
• discover how a known idea or innovation has been confirmed, applied, improved, extended, or corrected
• help make your literature review more comprehensive.

Cited reference searching can complement your literature search. However be careful not to just look at papers that have been cited in isolation. A robust literature search is also needed to limit publication bias.

Search Strategy

A search strategy is an organized structure of key terms used to search a database. The search strategy combines the key concepts of your search question in order to retrieve accurate results.

Each database works differently so you need to adapt your search strategy for each database. You may wish to develop a number of separate search strategies if your research covers several different areas.

It is a good idea to test your strategies and refine them after you have reviewed the search results.

Your search strategy can use:

• possible search terms
• keywords and phrases
• subject headings (where applicable)

  Choose search terms

Concepts can be expressed in different ways.  For instance, “self-esteem” might be referred to as “self-worth”. Your aim is to consider each of your concepts and come up with a list of the different ways they could be expressed.

To find alternative keywords or phrases for your concepts try the following:

• Use a thesaurus to identify synonyms.
• Search for your concepts on a search engine like Google Scholar, scanning the results for alternative words and phrases.
• Examine relevant abstracts or articles for alternative words, phrases and subject headings (if the database uses subject headings).

When you've done this, you should have lists of words and phrases for each concept.  Keep this list handy as you search.  Some databases will use one set of words more than others.  Try everything.   As you search and scan articles and abstracts, you may discover different key terms to enhance your search strategy.

  Search with keywords

Keywords are free text words and phrases. Database search strategies sometimes use a combination of free text and subject headings (where applicable).  USE BOOLEAN LOGIC.

A keyword search usually looks for your search terms in the title and abstract of a reference. You may wish to search in title fields only if you want a small number of specific results.

Some databases will find the exact word or phrase, so make sure your spelling is accurate or you will miss references.

  Search for the exact phrase

If you want words to appear next to each other in an exact phrase, use quotation marks, ex. “self-esteem”.

Phrase searching decreases the number of results you get and makes your results more relevant. Most databases allow you to search for phrases, but check the database guide if you are unsure.

  Searching with subject headings

Database subject headings are controlled vocabulary terms that a database uses to describe what an article is about.

Using appropriate subject headings enhances your search and will help you to find more results on your topic. This is because subject headings find articles according to their subject, even if the article does not use your chosen key words.

You should combine both subject headings and keywords in your search strategy for each of the concepts you identify. This is particularly important if you are undertaking a systematic review or an in-depth piece of work

Subject headings may vary between databases, so you need to investigate each database separately to find the subject headings they use. For example, for Medline you can use MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) and for Embase you can use the EMTREE thesaurus.

SEARCH TIP: In Ovid databases, search for a known key paper by title, select the "complete reference" button to see which subject headings the database indexers have given that article, and consider adding relevant ones to your own search strategy.

  Use Boolean logic to combine search terms

Boolean operators (AND, OR and NOT) allow you to try different combinations of search terms or subject headings.

Databases often show Boolean operators as buttons or drop-down menus that you can click to combine your search terms or results.

The main Boolean operators are:

• OR  - will find articles that mention either of the topics you search for
• AND  - will find articles that mention both of the searched topics
• NOT  - excludes a search term or concept. It should be used with caution as you may inadvertently exclude relevant references

For example, searching for “self-esteem NOT eating disorders” finds articles that mention self-esteem but removes any articles that mention eating disorders.

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Most library databases have search tools built in. Try some of these:

• Subject:  Think of subjects as official hashtags. Use them to find sources about that subject.
• Date Range:  Limit your search to sources published between specific years.
• Peer Reviewed:  Limit your search to scholarly journal articles.
• Full Text:  Make sure all of the results are available to read in full.

Look on the left and right of your search results, or for an "advanced search" page to find these tools - and more!

How to Find Articles

Use Keywords from your topic