Medical databases have hundreds of specialized topics, and thousands of articles on any given topic. Because of this, you will need to use different search strategies to find the most relevant research for your class assignments.
Learn about the different strategies below for searching the SOWELA Library's medical databases.
To access the SOWELA Library's databases log in with your L-number. Your pin is the 6 digits of your birthday - MMDDYY.
Only use the most relevant keywords to search the database based on your research question. Also search for synonyms of your keywords.
Example:
Research Question: What are the effects of stress on preterm births?
Keywords: stress, preterm
Synonyms: anxiety, premature, labor, delivery
Use "AND," "OR," and "NOT" to search the databases more effectively. These are known as Boolean operators.
Click on the tabs above to learn about how to use each of these operators.
AND: all of the keywords must be in each search result.
Using AND places a higher set of criteria on your search, and will return fewer results.
In this example, searching for "stroke AND paralysis" will only give you results that have both
keywords. You will not be shown articles that have only one of the keywords.
"Venn Diagram for Boolean Operator AND" by ramaxeymiles is licensed under CC BY 2.0
OR: search results can have some or all of the keywords.
Using OR gives the database more options providing you with more results.
In this example, searching for "stroke OR brain infarction OR ischemia" will only give you results
that have one, two, or all three of the keywords.
"Venn Diagram for Boolean Operator OR" by ramaxeymiles is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
NOT: eliminates search results the contain the keyword after "not."
Using NOT restricts the results by disqualifying database articles with certain keywords.
In this example, searching for "ischemic stroke NOT hemorrhagic stroke" eliminate any search
results that have the phrase "hemorrhagic stroke."
"Venn diagram for Boolean Operator NOT" by ramaxeymiles is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Many medical databases group their articles under different topics called medical subject headings (MeSH). You can use these MeSH terms to focus your search on the exact topics you need. The databases will also help you discover the MeSH term you need to use.
While subject headings can help you search the databases for more accurate search results, subject headings are not available for all topics, such as specific cases or newer conditions and treatments.