A search strategy is an organized combination of keywords, phrases, subject headings, and limiters used to search a database.
Your search strategy will include:
keywords
boolean operators
variations of search terms (synonyms, suffixes)
subject headings
Your search strategy may include:
truncation (where applicable)
phrases (where applicable)
limiters (date, language, age, publication type, etc.)
A search strategy usually requires several iterations. You will need to test the strategy along the way to ensure that you are finding relevant articles. It's also a good idea to review your search strategy with your co-authors. They may have ideas about terms or concepts you may have missed.
Additionally, each database you search is developed differently. You will need to adjust your strategy for each database your search. For instance, Embase is a European database, many of the medical terms are slightly different than those used in MEDLINE and PubMed.
These short videos offer quick research tips in under one minute.
These short videos offer quick research tips in under one minute. Click to view them here, or link them to your D2L course
View the list of all seven Quick Tip! short videos. Below are links to individual videos.
This page includes information about some advanced searching techniques which will aid your research.