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NUR 610 - Seminar in Nursing Research

There are many different ways to search for information in databases.

Here is one way to get you started with searching:

  1. Identify main concepts for your topic. Conduct a search using keywords. Identify relevant results.  
  2. Figure out the terms that the database uses for your concepts by seeing the subject headings or MeSH terms found in records of relevant results.
  3. Conduct a second search using subject headings. Searching with subject headings can retrieve even more relevant results.

If a database has a thesaurus (CINAHL has CINAHL Headings), you can browse it for subject headings, see the scope note or definition of a subject heading, and see related terms that you might use. 

Search Tips:

  • Keep track of the terms you've searched to avoid repeating searches.
  • Consider using a citation manager, such as Academic Writer to export citations of relevant results along the way. 

Need help with searching? Ask your Librarian for help!

How to Find Reliable Sources

Learn how to find reliable sources to use in your academic papers, including how to search for sources, evaluate sources, and organize sources with a reference management system.

Academic Writer

© 2021 American Psychological Association.

Strategies

Truncation is a technique that broadens your search to include various word endings and spellings.

  • To use truncation, enter the root of a word and put the truncation symbol at the end.
  • The database will return results that include any ending of that root word.
  • Examples:
    child* = child, childs, children, childrens, childhood
    genetic* = genetic, genetics, genetically
  • Truncation symbols may vary by database; common symbols include: *, !, ?, or #

Wildcard searches allow the database to replace the wildcard symbol with any letters that would make up a real word. It's like a shorthand way of typing every possible word that fits the pattern with OR in between.
 

Symbol What it does Sample search Instead of typing
* replaces zero or more letters at the end of a word
(this is truncation)		 comput* computer OR computing OR computational OR...
# replaces at most one letter ne#t net OR neat OR next OR nest OR...
? replaces only one letter b?t bat OR bet OR bit OR bot OR but OR...


REMEMBER: Some databases may use these symbols differently or may use different symbols, so check the database's help section if you're having problems with wildcards.