Use MeSH to Build a Better PubMed Query
EndNote is a referencing tool that is available to all Queensland Health employees. LKC offers training in EndNote, as well as ongoing support and troubleshooting. See our EndNote guide (link below) for more detailed information.
Access to online resources for Queensland Health staff.
Allow enough time for:
Book a time in with LKC if you need assistance with the search strategy.
See following resources for how to review literature search results and writing a literature review.
Queensland University resources
Other Australian University resources
Identify the best database(s) to search - go to CKN Databases A-Z list page. Click on More Details against each database link to view descriptions.
Each database has a specific subject or specialty focus. You may need to search several databases to make sure you've covered all the published and / or grey literature.
Why search PubMed and Medline? Because, while there is a lot of overlap, these databases may contain some unique material or retrieve different results. PubMed has more and broader current content. See the link below for further information.
Using a "universal" search, eg Discover CKN (EDS), One Search, etc, will retrieve lots of results because it is searching all of an organisation's online resources and database at once. This can save time if you have planned your search strategy well and know how to limit your results.
Understand the difference between using AND or OR to connect separate keywords / subjects or search statements.
These connecting words are referred to as "Boolean operators".
NOT is also another Boolean operator - it's used to exclude terms (eg Sexually transmitted diseases NOT HIV OR AIDS)
Other operators relate to proximity, eg NEAR or ADJacent (indicates the terms need to be in close proximity to one another).
When using keywords to search, remember that keywords are terms found anywhere in the database record.
Consider your keywords and how you will search them. For example:
Subject headings may be added to a database record (called subject indexing).
Subject headings may also be referred to as "subject terms", "descriptors" or "thesaurus terms" in different databases.
When you select subject headings the system will find any records that have matching headings.
Not all records in the database will have subject headings assigned. We recommend that you also include keywords in your search.
Consider using the "mapping" or "suggest subject" features within databases to find subject headings, eg Medical Subject Headings (MeSH).
Note: subject headings may change between databases to reflect the discipline or specialty.
You can rerun previous searches across EBSCO databases. If you rerun a search and get zero (0) results, check the subject headings for the specific database.
CEBM Oxford. Finding the evidence 2 - Turning search terms into a search strategy
CEBM Oxford. Finding the evidence 3 - Turning your search strategy into results: PubMed demonstration
