Step 3. Plan and Execute Your Search

Next, think of synonyms and other terms that might be used to describe your topic. Thesauri and dictionaries are useful resources for synonyms.

• Try the search box or a Google search. Use the results you see to identify keywords in titles or abstracts that might fit your topic.
• Another great tool is the National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Heading Browser. Use this tool to find the subject headings and related terms for your search. We’ll talk about subject headings more in the advanced searching section.

Also, as with all aspects of your search, don’t hesitate to contact KRS if you need a hand!

Let's brainstorm synonyms and related terms for our pediatric cerebral palsy strengthening question:

As part of this, we will want to consider: related keywords, synonyms, acronyms and spelling (British versus American).

**Always use the abbreviation and the full spelling when both are common

Truncating a term searches for the root and allows for variation in the suffix. This is a great strategy for singular, plural, -isms, -ions, -ologies, etc. It broadens your search using only one root, making your searches more thorough. Most databases will truncate your term with an *. If you are unsure if the truncation is working properly, check the database help section for details on how to truncate. 

Most databases use Boolean operators, a means of combining key concepts, to search for results. Some basic search boxes will automatically put an AND between all terms entered and others require the searcher to tell the database what to do. Understanding how the OR & AND work in a database is essential to understanding how a search will be treated by the database and what to expect from the results.

OR

For example, a search for Child* OR Pediatric* will find all instances of the root child, all instances of the root pediatric, and all instances where both appear. This leads to more results with better coverage of that concept.

We can continue to use our PICO/key concepts table to help us organize and plan our search strategy. We’ll use this table to identify how we will use the OR for our search.

AND

AND is used to combine different terms. It finds instances where overlap occurs and all terms appear in the same results.

For example, a search for Cerebral Palsy AND Strength* will find instances where both terms appear in the same results. This leads to fewer, more relevant and focused results. 

* OR searches should be completed first, and then combined using AND

We can continue to use our PICO/key concepts table to help us organize and plan our search strategy. We’ll use this table to identify how we will use the AND for our search.