Applying your search correctly to databases and search tools is critical to finding relevant literature. Search interfaces will look different but often have similar search functionality and features. The interactive activity below demonstrates some database features and elements of an effective search.
Example question: Does the general public support the use of quotas as a strategy to get more women into parliament?
Scopus search example:
Many databases and search tools have a range of search tricks (functions) which can help you search more effectively and efficiently.
Some of these key search tips are covered here. Click on the 'i' symbol or scroll down to see more.
Useful for building comprehensive searches. Most databases have an advanced search feature or allow you to combine multiple search lines.
Useful for preliminary or scoping searching where searches are broad and consist of few concepts.
AND connects different concepts to find results with all concepts.
OR connects synonyms or alternative concepts to broadens your search.
Be cautious - NOT removes concepts from your results so can eliminate useful results (some databases use AND NOT)
Most database require you to add quotations around multiple words to lock them together as a phrase.
Search for concepts within a certain number of words (proximity) of each other (can be in any order)
This will find the terms in any order, for example: women in parliament; in the Australian Parliament there are many women, etc.
This symbol varies between platforms: check database help pages if unsure.
Select the fields to search for your keywords, such as the title and/or the abstract.
Most databases default to searching multiple fields: Scopus for example, defaults to Article title, Abstract, Keywords.
Some databases include a thesaurus which allows you to incorporate subject headings into your search. This can be useful for building comprehensive searches.
Easily finds plurals and word endings to streamline your search. Often the asterisk symbol * but this can vary.
Be careful where you place the truncation symbol as this may find too many results. For example pol* will find politics, politician, but also pollen, polymer, and so on.
Easily find different word spellings.
Be cautious - this operator can function differently between databases and in some cases it is safest to include the terms in full e.g. woman OR women
This may require you to adapt your search as search interfaces and functions may vary slightly between databases. Always check the help pages for each database.
For more help:
Many databases will have limits which you can use to help narrow your results.
Some common limits to consider:
Never limit to full text only as you will most likely miss relevant publications.
More sophisticated limits are available in some databases, like medical databases, allowing you to limit by age group or study design.
Search filters (also known as 'hedges') are premade searches, many of which are verified, which you can incorporate into your search to help narrow it. Learn more here:
It is important that you take time to review your search and make improvements where possible.
Some simple ways to improve or troubleshoot your search strategy include:
Remember this may be because a lot is already published in the area.
There could be gaps in the research area and, thus not a lot published.
If the studies are not appearing ask yourself why? Are there any changes you can make to the strategy to make these appear?
It may be better to split certain phrases to search for them as two separate concepts instead of one. This will depend on how they are written in the literature. For example:
If you think you will split a phrase consider whether you will add it:
Proximity operators finds concepts within a certain amount of words, proximity, from each other. This symbol can vary between databases.