There are a number of various tools to finesse a search, but some of the most commonly used tools are:
Truncation:
To search for different forms of a root word, such as vaccin* to find vaccine, vaccines, vaccinate, vaccination, vaccinations, etc.. You can use a wildcard to look for alternate letters within a word, such as wome*n to find woman as well as women. The asterisk * is used in the library catalog and many databases for this.
There is no wildcard in PubMed and the wildcard in CINAHL is #
Use the * thoughtfully. It can result in false hits (gam* will bring gaming and gamer as well as gambling and gambler).
To find a specific phrase, with the words next to each other in order, use double quotation marks around the phrase:
Use the " " thoughtfully. It can eliminate some relevant articles. Using "" will turn off term mapping in PubMed.
To build a search to combine the concepts, use a nested search:
When combining searches, use parentheses ( ) around different parts of the search, as in the example above or the Scopus search below.
( (TITLE ( hypertension OR "high blood pressure" OR "elevated blood pressure" OR htn OR hypertensive ) ) OR ( ABS ( hypertension OR "high blood pressure" OR "elevated blood pressure" OR htn OR hypertensive ) ) ) AND ( ( TITLE ( mhealth OR m-health OR "mobile health" OR ehealth OR e-health OR telehealth OR tele-health OR tele-medicine OR telemedicine OR phone AND app* OR "mobile app*" OR apps OR app OR "health technology" OR "mobile phone*" OR "cell phone*" OR "cellphone*" OR "smartphone*" OR "smart phone*" OR "web based" OR "web-based" OR website OR "web-site" OR "web site" OR "internet-based" OR "internet based" ) ) OR ( ABS ( mhealth OR m-health OR "mobile health" OR ehealth OR e-health OR telehealth OR tele-health OR tele-medicine OR telemedicine OR phone AND app* OR "mobile app*" OR apps OR app OR "health technology" OR "mobile phone*" OR "cell phone*" OR "cellphone*" OR "smartphone*" OR "smart phone*" OR "web based" OR "web-based" OR website OR "web-site" OR "web site" OR "internet-based" OR "internet based" ) ) ) AND ( ( ABS ( "self-care" OR "self care" OR selfcare OR "self-manag*" OR "self manag*" OR "selfmanag*" OR "self-monitor*" OR "self monitor*" OR selfmonitor* OR coach* OR interven* OR "patient educat*" ) ) OR ( TITLE ( "self-care" OR "self care" OR selfcare OR "self-manag*" OR "self manag*" OR "selfmanag*" OR "self-monitor*" OR "self monitor*" OR selfmonitor* OR coach* OR interven* OR "patient educat*" ) ) ) AND ( LIMIT-TO ( PUBYEAR , 2022 ) OR LIMIT-TO ( PUBYEAR , 2021 ) OR LIMIT-TO ( PUBYEAR , 2020 ) OR LIMIT-TO ( PUBYEAR , 2019 ) OR LIMIT-TO ( PUBYEAR , 2018 ) OR LIMIT-TO ( PUBYEAR , 2017 ) ) AND ( LIMIT-TO ( LANGUAGE , "English" ))
|
# |
Query |
Limiters/Expanders |
Last Run Via |
Results |
|
S30 |
S9 AND S17 AND S20 AND S24 AND S28 |
Limiters - English Language; Peer Reviewed |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
396 |
|
S29 |
S9 AND S17 AND S20 AND S24 AND S28 |
Search modes - Boolean/Phrase |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
423 |
|
S28 |
S25 OR S26 OR S27 |
Expanders - Apply equivalent subjects |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
1,546,008 |
|
S27 |
pediatric* OR child* OR paediatric* OR adolescen* OR teen* OR "young adult*" OR infan* OR toddler* OR neonat* OR newborn* OR juvenile* OR boy* OR girl* |
Search modes - Boolean/Phrase |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
1,532,146 |
|
S26 |
(MH "Adolescence") OR (MH "Adolescent, Hospitalized") OR (MH "Child") OR (MH "Child, Hospitalized") OR (MH "Child, Medically Fragile") OR (MH "Child, Preschool") OR (MH "Infant") OR (MH "Infant, High Risk") OR (MH "Infant, Hospitalized") OR (MH "Infant, Newborn") OR (MH "Infant, Large for Gestational Age") OR (MH "Infant, Small for Gestational Age") OR (MH "Infant, Low Birth Weight") OR (MH "Infant, Very Low Birth Weight") OR (MH "Infant, Premature") |
Expanders - Apply equivalent subjects |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
1,056,987 |
|
S25 |
(MH "Pediatrics") OR (MH "Neonatology") OR (MH "Perinatology") |
Expanders - Apply equivalent subjects |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
22,661 |
|
S24 |
S21 OR S22 OR S23 |
Expanders - Apply equivalent subjects |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
1,071,240 |
|
S23 |
train* OR teach* OR educat* OR workshop* OR curricul* |
Search modes - Boolean/Phrase |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
1,071,240 |
|
S22 |
(MH "Teaching") OR (MH "Communication Skills Training") |
Expanders - Apply equivalent subjects |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
11,452 |
|
S21 |
(MH "Education") OR (MH "Curriculum") OR (MH "Education, Continuing") OR (MH "Education, Medical, Continuing") OR (MH "Education, Nursing, Continuing") |
Expanders - Apply equivalent subjects |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
75,046 |
|
S20 |
S18 OR S19 |
Search modes - Boolean/Phrase |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
746,787 |
|
S19 |
communicat* OR conversation* OR discuss* |
Search modes - Boolean/Phrase |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
746,787 |
|
S18 |
(MH "Communication") OR (MH "Communication Barriers") OR (MH "Communication Skills") OR (MH "Conversation") |
Expanders - Apply equivalent subjects |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
104,492 |
|
S17 |
S10 OR S11 OR S12 OR S13 OR S14 OR S15 OR S16 |
Search modes - Boolean/Phrase |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
321,431 |
|
S16 |
app OR apps OR "mobile application*" OR internet OR "web site" OR website OR "educational technolog*" OR "instructional technolog*" OR smartphone* OR "cell phone*" OR cellphone* OR mhealth OR ehealth OR "mobile health" OR virtual OR asynchronous OR online app OR apps OR "mobile application*" OR internet OR "web site" OR website OR "educational technolog*" OR "instructional technolog*" OR smartphone* OR "cell phone*" OR cellphone* OR mhealth OR ehealth OR "mobile health" OR virtual OR asynchronous OR online |
Search modes - Boolean/Phrase |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
221,825 |
|
S15 |
(MH "Computers, Hand-Held+") |
Expanders - Apply equivalent subjects |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
8,002 |
|
S14 |
(MH "Internet+") |
Expanders - Apply equivalent subjects |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
161,601 |
|
S13 |
(MH "Educational Technology") |
Expanders - Apply equivalent subjects |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
2,303 |
|
S12 |
(MH "Smartphone") OR (MH "Cellular Phone") |
Expanders - Apply equivalent subjects |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
5,532 |
|
S11 |
(MH "Telemedicine") OR (MH "Telenursing") OR (MH "Telecommunications") |
Search modes - Boolean/Phrase |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
19,043 |
|
S10 |
(MH "Mobile Applications") |
Expanders - Apply equivalent subjects |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
10,143 |
|
S9 |
S1 OR S2 OR S3 OR S4 OR S5 OR S6 OR S7 OR S8 |
Search modes - Boolean/Phrase |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
1,031,133 |
|
S8 |
"end of life" OR "palliative care" OR "terminal care" OR "terminal* ill*" OR dying OR hospice* OR "poor prognosis" OR death OR "advance care planning" OR cancer OR oncolog* OR death |
Search modes - Boolean/Phrase |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
776,717 |
|
S7 |
(MH "Advance Care Planning") |
Expanders - Apply equivalent subjects |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
4,357 |
|
S6 |
(MH "Neoplasms+") |
Search modes - Boolean/Phrase |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
613,823 |
|
S5 |
(MH "Hospices") |
Expanders - Apply equivalent subjects |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
3,382 |
|
S4 |
(MH "Terminally Ill Patients") OR (MH "Hospice Patients") |
Search modes - Boolean/Phrase |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
12,470 |
|
S3 |
(MH "Terminal Care") OR (MH "Hospice Care") OR (MH "Resuscitation Orders") |
Search modes - Boolean/Phrase |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
30,224 |
|
S2 |
(MH "Palliative Care") OR (MH "Hospice and Palliative Nursing") OR (MH "Palliative Medicine") |
Search modes - Boolean/Phrase |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
43,714 |
|
S1 |
(MH "Death") OR (MH "Infant Death") |
Search modes - Boolean/Phrase |
Interface - EBSCOhost Research Databases |
19,837 |