Developing an Effective Search Strategy

Using the "OR" operator with more keywords

For my first search, I only retrieved 12 results, so I'd like to find more. By adding more keywords for the same concept within the boxes, the results will grow:

By adding synonyms (which are words that mean roughly the same thing), my search grew to 31 results. This is similar to making the three "bubbles" of the original search larger, which then makes the overlapping section larger:

Adding "subject terms"

Subject terms, also sometimes called "index terms" or a "controlled vocabulary," are very useful because they replace some of the need to brainstorm every possible keyword that could have been used to describe your topic. They are also more specific than keywords – for example, if you use "Amazon" as a keyword, it is unclear if you mean the Amazon rainforest or Amazon the company. Using the designated subject term eliminates this issue.

Subject terms are assigned to articles to reflect the articles' main topics. However, they are not always applied to every single article, so the best practice is to use them in conjunction with keywords.

Locating subject terms in the database

1. To browse for subject terms, look in the Subject Terms heading (also sometimes called the Thesaurus) in the blue bar near the top of the screen.

2. Switch the radio button to "Term Contains," type in your concept, and click Browse. You can then click on the blue link for a subject term that looks relevant.

3. Check the "Scope Note" to learn how that subject term is applied in the database to make sure it is the term you intend. You can also find broader and narrower terms, which might be more appropriate for your search. Select the terms you'd like and click the Add button.

4. The database will place the term(s) in the search box. You can then copy and paste this as-is and add to your concept box, separated by "or," with the other terms. When using subject terms, you must keep the quotation marks (unlike for keywords, where it's okay to leave quotation marks off). Also keep the DE segment – this is how the database knows to search within the subject term field.

You can also add subject terms for your other concepts as well. After browsing the thesaurus, I have found more terms, which I can add to my list:

Using keywords or subject terms from a relevant article

In addition to brainstorming keywords or searching the thesaurus directly, you can use a relevant article's subject terms (shown below) or keywords you find in the title, and add them to your concept box.

After running a search with keywords and subject terms, there are many useful limiters that you might wish to use. The most common limiters used in a lit review are:

1. Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals box: Many databases, including Academic Search Complete, include more than just peer-reviewed journals articles; they can also include magazine articles or book chapters. To find only peer-reviewed journal articles, check this box.
2. Publication Date: Your assignment will often specify how recent your articles must be. If the assignment doesn't specify, then articles no older than 5 years for the physical sciences and no older than 10 years for the social sciences is a good place to start.

You can find these filters in the left-side menu of your results:

In addition to creating a search strategy with keywords and subject terms, articles that you've already found are a great resource to find more relevant articles.

Using an article's cited references

Check the bibliography of a relevant article to find older articles that may be relevant to your topic.

Find more recent articles that cited to the relevant article

Many EBSCO-interfaced databases include a link to articles that cited to your relevant article, but you can also search Google Scholar. Simply search for the article and find the "cited by" link.

Find similar articles

Select the Find Similar Results option within the article's record.

Searching shortcuts

EBSCO databases support a variety of shortcuts to help you make searching easier. Note that these functions do not necessarily apply to other databases, like Google.