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NURS 7381 - Nursing Synthesis & Application of Clinical Research: Build the Search

Access the Databases

Turning a Question Into a Search

An image illustrating how to turn a question into concepts searchable in a database.

Boolean Operators

Combine your search terms using Boolean operators to get results.

Diagram Explaining Boolean Operators

Notes on PubMed

When using PubMed for advanced searching, remember: 

  • [TIAB] limits the keyword search to the title/abstract fields of a citation
  • [MeSH] limits the search to pre-defined index terms
  • Check the MeSH Database for definitions and possible synonyms to expand or refine your search

Build Your Search

An image showing a search string in PubMed

Note - Remember to include at least:

  • 1 subject heading (MeSH term) per concept
  • 2 keywords for each subject heading (MeSH term)

Limit Your Results