Searching the Literature

Expanding Your Search with Synonyms

After identifying your key concepts, the next step is to generate as many relevant synonyms as possible. This process can take time and often requires going back and forth to adjust your terms. However, gathering all relevant terms is essential to ensure you retrieve all applicable results.

Step 1: Identify Synonyms

Start by brainstorming alternative terms for each concept. For example:

• Elderly → old, older, elder, geriatric
• Falls → fall, falling down, trip
• Acute Care → emergency, intensive care, ICU
• Interventions → improvement, quality improvement

Step 2: Combine Synonyms Using OR

To broaden your search, add synonyms to each concept using OR:

(elderly OR old OR older OR elder OR geriatric) AND (falls OR fall OR falling down OR trip) AND (acute care OR emergency OR intensive care OR ICU) AND (interventions OR improvement OR quality improvement)

🔹 Tip: Don't worry if you can't think of many synonyms at first! Additional strategies for finding search terms are covered in the More Terms page.

Note: Always capitalize AND, OR, and NOT, as some databases may not function properly if these operators are in lowercase.