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MOT5610 Quantitative Research Methods Fall 2024

Developing the Questions and the Search Strategy

Is increased physical activity an effective intervention for preventing obesity in children and adolescents?

  • Start by searching the two or three most important concepts, then add in additional concepts as needed to narrow the results​ to make the question more specific and to get the results to a manageable set.

  • You may not need to use all the PICO terms in your search​.

  • The more concepts you AND into a search, the results become smaller​.

 

Concept A: 

  • community mobility
  • transportation
  • driving

Concept B:

  • physical activity
  • exercise
  • fitness

Concept C:

  • elderly
  • older adults
  • aged

For the comprehensive results required by IRs:

  • Use both keywords and subject headings in each database for each term/concept.
  • Be consistent and conduct searches systematically in each database:  use the same strategy and keywords; subject headings will differ from database to database.
  • DOCUMENT the searches and the results.
  • Example Searching Terms and Results 2022.08.22.docx