Where do I start?
There are different ways you can approach searching:
Plan & document
If you are new to searching and you have a complex search, it may be useful to plan before you start and document as you go.
Follow the steps below to:
- identify keywords
- think of alternative keywords
- pull it together in a search strategy
On the go
Alternatively, some people prefer to start by conducting exploratory searches, then build knowledge of keywords and relevant literature as they go.
Steps for planning a search strategy
Follow the steps bellow for a structured approach to create a search strategy from your research question.
The relationship between moral distress and burnout in frontline workers during COVID-19
CONCEPT 1
moral distress
CONCEPT 2
burnout
CONCEPT 3
frontline workers
CONCEPT 4
covid-19
They can have a similar meaning (alternative terms or be related concepts (broader terms or narrower terms).
CONCEPT 1
moral distress
CONCEPT 2
burnout
disengagement
CONCEPT 3
frontline workers
nurses
doctors
paramedics
CONCEPT 4
covid-19
SARS-CoV-2
pandemic
OR
terms relating to the same concept
(doctors OR nurses)
AND
join concepts together
(doctors OR nurses AND moral distress)
phrase
words in exact order
((doctors OR nurses) AND "moral distress")
We can apply OR to connect keywords and AND to connect concepts to our table.
CONCEPT 1
moral distress
CONCEPT 2
burnout
OR
disengagement
CONCEPT 3
frontline workers
OR
nurses
OR
doctors
OR
paramedics
CONCEPT 4
covid-19
OR
SARS-CoV-2
OR
pandemic
These search techniques are optional, think carefully if you need them and test they are operating how you intended.
TRUNCATION
same word,
different ending
frontline worker*
= frontline worker, frontline workers
Truncation searches for variation of word endings.
Think carefully about possible words you are searching for, this is a common cause of irrelevant results.
pandemic* = pandemic, pandemics
pandem* = pandemic, pandemics, pandemonium
pande* = pandemic, pandemics, pandemonium, pander, pandering
You don't need to use truncation.
If truncation is bringing back irrelevant results, you can search for all the variations directly.
PROXIMITY
words within a
specific number
frontline ADJ3 worker
=
frontline workers
workers on the frontline
frontline health care workers
Note: ADJ is used in Ovid databases, check other database for correct letters
Proximity searching is based on how closely two or more search terms appear in the results.
This is useful when you are looking for concepts expressed by multiple phrases, or to focus on a particular meaning of a word when you have irrelevant results.
Proximity not working as hoped?
If proximity searching is back irrelevant results, you can
- try and tweak the adjacency numbers
- change to AND search
- change to phrases
Search string
Applying all steps to our table we can create a single search string.
We need to use round brackets to show the databases what to keep together.
"moral distress" AND (burnout OR disengagement) AND ((frontline adj3 worker*) OR doctor* OR nurse* OR paramedic*) AND ("covid 19" OR "SARS-CoV-2" OR pandemic)
Line-by-line search
Although we can use this search string directly in the search box, for Advanced searching we generally take a line-by-line approach for more control.
Each database works slightly differently, but the principles are the same. Each search term is numbered and you join together keywords within a concept using OR (see line 4 below), and concepts with AND (see line 14 below).
1. "moral distress"
2. burnout
3. disengagement
4. 2 OR 3
5. (frontline adj3 worker*)
6. nurse*
7. doctor*
8. paramedic*
9. 5 OR 6 OR 7 OR 8
10. "covid 19"
11. pandemic
12. "SARS-CoV-2"
13. 10 OR 11 OR 12
14. 1 AND 4 AND 9 AND 13
This video shows line by line searching in an Ovid database.
Activity
Using the steps above create your own search plan document.