Learn the field.
Use a reading list, recent review and Library Search to discover key authors, terms and debates. Follow promising reference lists.
Project pathway · question to evidence
Find evidence without drowning in it.
Turn one focused question into a search you can explain, refine and repeat. Use the annotated example, then keep your real searches in the downloadable log.
Bring: one focused research question.
Leave with: a concept plan, exact search record and a
shortlist ready to appraise, then save in EndNote or Zotero.
Boundary: a documented student search is not automatically
a systematic review.
The central habit
Search in passes, not for one perfect query.
Start broad enough to learn the language of the topic. Inspect useful results, add better terms and repeat. Keep enough detail for another person, including future you, to understand what you did.
Before searching: complete the research-question guide. A database cannot rescue a vague question.
By the end you can
- choose a proportionate search rather than promise a systematic review;
- turn question concepts into keywords and subject headings;
- use AND, OR, quotation marks, truncation and brackets deliberately;
- record, screen and save useful evidence without losing the trail.
1 · Scope the task
Decide how exhaustive the search needs to be.
Search transparently.
Use a planned set of sources and concepts, record exact searches, screen consistently and explain sensible limits.
Follow the protocol.
Use the required review methods, databases, reporting standard, duplicate processes and information-specialist input.
Use the label your method earns. “I searched three databases and kept a log” describes good practice. It does not, by itself, make the work a systematic review.
2 · Plan the concepts
Break the question into ideas a database can match.
Worked question
Among older adults, is social isolation associated with mortality?
Older adults
older adult* · ageing · aging · elderly
Social isolation
“social isolation” · loneliness · “living alone”
Mortality
mortality · death · survival
- Write one concept per column. Do not paste the full research question into the database and hope.
- Add synonyms, spelling variants and abbreviations. Borrow useful language from relevant papers.
- Check the database thesaurus. A subject heading such as MeSH may retrieve records that use different wording.
- Keep only concepts that help. Adding every PECO/PICO element can make a search unnecessarily narrow.
3 · Build the search
Combine alternatives with OR; combine concepts with AND.
A first-pass keyword search
(older adult* OR ageing OR aging OR elderly) AND ("social isolation" OR loneliness OR "living alone") AND (mortality OR death OR survival)
In plain language: a result must match at least one term from each coloured concept group.
- OR widens within a concept. The record can use any listed alternative.
- AND narrows between concepts. The record must represent every connected concept.
- Quotation marks hold a phrase together. Use them only when word order matters.
- The asterisk asks for word endings.
adult*may retrieve adult and adults. - Brackets keep the logic together. They stop the database mixing your OR and AND groups incorrectly.
Database syntax varies. Check its help page and inspect how it translated your query. In PubMed, use Advanced Search and Search Details to see what was actually run.
4 · Search, inspect, refine
Use the right place for the question, then learn from the results.
Orientate
Begin with the module reading list, a recent review or a known useful paper.
Search broadly
Use Newcastle Library Search to find books, articles and material across collections.
Search by subject
Use the relevant subject guide and databases. PubMed is useful for biomedical literature, but no single database covers every question.
Chase citations
Look backwards through reference lists and forwards to newer papers that cite a useful source.
- check that every concept is present;
- search important terms in title or abstract fields;
- replace vague terms with more specific ones;
- apply only limits you can justify.
- add synonyms and spelling variants;
- remove a weak or over-specific concept;
- check subject headings and indexing;
- remove accidental date, language or article-type limits.
- open two or three records and inspect their language;
- check brackets, phrases and field codes;
- look at the database’s translated query;
- record the change and why you made it.
5 · Keep the trail
Record the search while it is still on screen.
Downloadable workbook
Plan, log and screen in one place.
The workbook includes a start page, concept planner, 50-row search log and 100-row screening log.
Database or platform, plus the specific collection if relevant.
Date searched, because databases and records change.
The complete query as run, including fields, phrases and brackets.
Dates, languages, study types or filters, plus the reason for each.
Results found, records exported and what you changed next.
A screenshot can help, but searchable text in a log is much easier to reuse, compare and report.
6 · Screen and save
Make one consistent decision, then keep the useful source.
- Export the records. Move results into your chosen manager or screening workflow and remove clear duplicates.
- Screen title and abstract. Use the same question and inclusion rules for every record; be cautious about excluding uncertain records early.
- Check the full text. Record a clear reason when an apparently relevant paper is excluded.
- Link reports from the same study. One study may produce several papers; do not automatically count each report as independent evidence.
- Appraise before relying on it. Map the study, inspect the results and record what each useful paper can and cannot support.
- Save what you use as you read. Verify the record, attach or link the full text where permitted and keep the appraisal note with it.
Go deeper · official searching guidance
Use these authoritative guides when you need database-specific detail or are planning a more comprehensive review.
Plan how you will find information
Move from a question and concepts to keywords, sources and an iterative search.
Open Finding InformationUse search operators deliberately
Extend the worked example with truncation, wildcards, controlled vocabulary and citation searching.
Open Search TechniquesUse Library Search well
Search the catalogue, refine results and use Advanced Search for more control.
Open Library Search guidanceTranslate the logic into PubMed
Use Advanced Search, field tags, filters, search history and Search Details.
Open the PubMed User GuideUnderstand review-level searching
Read the fuller standard for sources, strategies, deduplication, study records and reporting.
Open Cochrane Handbook Chapter 4