Identify key words, terms and phrases
In addition to entering key words, using subject headings can be helpful when you need to do a more thorough search or if your concept has many possible synonyms.
Some databases use subject headings to identify one term to describe a concept. Every article about that concept is tagged with this subject heading. If you search using a subject heading, you will retrieve every article about that concept. Search PubMed for "Mobile Phone"[MeSH] and you will retrieve articles about all types and brands of cell phones.
Document your searches to:
Writing down which databases you searched, the keywords or subject headings used, the date, and number of results will help you improve future searches.
Databases index journals and no single database includes all journals in a particular subject area. PubMed is a common starting point for health sciences reviews. You should use other database in addition to PubMed. Some of the more common databases are listed below. Check the A-Z list of databases for a complete list.
CINAHL Plus with Full Text provides authoritative coverage for thousands of journals from the fields of nursing and allied health. It covers nursing, biomedicine, alternative/complementary medicine, consumer health and dozens of allied health disciplines. In addition, this database offers access to health care books, selected conference proceedings, standards of practice, educational software, audiovisuals and book chapters, as well as Evidence-Based Care Sheets.
A collection of databases containing high quality, in-depth evidence to assist in healthcare decision making. Includes the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, which provides peer-reviewed systematic reviews and protocols.