Use the advanced search feature to form a smarter search. Separating out your concepts helps the database understand what you mean.
Using advanced search also makes it easier to set other requirements for your research, like the date range during which it was published or what type of material it is.
The button for advanced search will look different on each database platform, but it's worth finding!
Brainstorm broader, narrower, and related terms.
PICO Question:
In nurses (P), what is the effect of high nurse patient ratios (I) compared to low nurse patient ratios (C) on medication errors (O)?
| Nurses | Nurse Patient Ratios | Medication Errors |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing Students | Staff Ratios | Drug Errors |
| Pediatric Nurses | Workload | Patient Safety |
| ICU | Low staffing | Medication Administration Errors |
Add more keywords.
Adding additional keywords to your search can help to further narrow your topic.
Example: nursing AND music therapy AND pediatrics
Use OR.
Broaden your search by using OR to link your terms.
Example: nursing AND (music therapy OR music intervention) AND (pediatrics OR children OR adolescents)
Use the Boolean Operators AND, OR and NOT to create search statements to enter in databases, Spartan Search, Google, etc.
Examples:
Wildcards allows you to search for multiple terms with the same root at once by using an asterisk.
Examples:
Search for exact phrases using quotation marks.
Example:
Finding one article on your topic can often lead to a lot more! Browse the references of the article to find sources cited in their literature review. The authors are likely experts on the topic and have already done the searching for you! Some tools can also help you find sources that have cited the one you are reading since it was published. By nature, these will be more recent!
There is often a feature built into library databases that provides a linked list of references. In Spartan Search, click the red arrows next to the article's title to find the article's References (the downward-facing arrow), and articles that have cited this title (the upward-facing arrow).
Don't see that option? You can manually copy that title into Spartan Search, ideally in quotation marks, to look for the full text. If you don't find your article, you can try searching on Google Scholar to see if there is a free copy available. Free copies are linked to the right of the article title.
Still can't find it? Create a request in your TIPASA Interlibrary Loan Account.
You can contact a librarian through chat, text, phone, question form, or in-person. You can even schedule an appointment with a librarian in Academic Support Net.