General Searching Techniques
When using scholarly databases, you should apply the following general search techniques for locating relevant and high-quality academic literature.
Use Keywords Effectively
Identify Key Terms: Start by identifying key terms relevant to your research topic. Consider alternative terms or synonyms.
Truncate Keywords: Use an asterisk (*) to truncate words to search for all variations (e.g., comput* will search for computer, computation, etc.). Other symbols are also used and information about what symbol is used can be found in the help text of the respective database.
Boolean Operators (AND, OR, NOT)
AND: Narrows the search by including all specified terms (e.g., artificial intelligence AND machine learning retrieves documents with both terms).
OR: Broadens the search by including either term (e.g., AI OR artificial intelligence retrieves documents with either term).
NOT: Excludes specific terms from your search (e.g., machine learning NOT neural networks).
Use Phrase Searching
Enclose a phrase in quotation marks to search for the exact phrase (e.g., “deep learning algorithms”).
Limit by Date: Many databases allow you to limit your search to articles published within a specific date range, helping you focus on the most recent research.
Filter by Document Type: Narrow your search by limiting it to specific types of documents, such as peer-reviewed articles, conference papers, theses, or reviews.
Use Wildcards: Use wildcard symbols like the question mark (?) to replace one character in a word. This helps find variations in spelling (e.g., “wom?n” will find both “woman” and “women”).
Subject-Specific Databases
Use databases specific to your field of study for more targeted results (e.g., PubMed for biomedical sciences, IEEE Xplore for engineering, and ACM Digital Library for computer science).
Use Citations for Further Research
Once you find a relevant article, explore its references to discover more related studies. Tools like Google Scholar provide a “Cited By” feature that lists all papers citing the article you’re viewing.
Advanced Search: Use the advanced search options available in many databases to combine various search terms, filter by authors, journals, and other criteria.
A free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature. PubMedCentral
Publishes open-access journals in science, technology, engineering, and medicine.
A nonprofit publisher and advocacy organization with a library of open-access journals.
A free search engine primarily accesses the MEDLINE database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics.
Indexes high-quality, open-access, peer-reviewed journals.
Publishes peer-reviewed, open-access journals across various disciplines, including biomedical sciences.
A nonprofit organization inspired by research funders and led by scientists to accelerate discovery by operating a platform for research communication that encourages and recognizes the most responsible behaviors in biological sciences
Provides open-access books and journal articles across various disciplines, including biomedical sciences.
Publishes journals across various academic fields including biomedical/health sciences. You can access research articles indexed in Wiley.
Publishes open-access journals in various disciplines, including biomedical sciences.
An open-access peer-reviewed scientific mega journal covering research in the biological and medical sciences.
An open-access publishing platform offering rapid publication and open peer review.
A research and publishing network offering open-access content across various disciplines, including biomedical sciences.
An open-access repository that allows researchers to share research outputs from all fields, including biomedical sciences.
A professional network for scientists and researchers to share papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators.
CORE:
Aggregates open-access research outputs from repositories and journals worldwide.
A comprehensive, free resource that provides detailed information on drugs, their chemical properties, pharmacology, and interactions.
It is widely used in pharmaceutical research and healthcare.
A freely accessible database providing information on the chemical structures, properties, biological activities, safety, and uses of pharmaceutical compounds.
A free and authoritative source of medical and pharmaceutical information, covering diseases, treatments, and drug interactions.
It includes clinical descriptions and medication guidelines.
Provides free, detailed information on medicines approved in the European Union, including pharmaceutical properties, usage, and
safety details.
Provides open access to drug information, including descriptions of medications, their clinical uses, and side effects.
Offers free access to books in various fields, including pharmaceutical sciences, drug development, and healthcare. The library provides
scholarly publications and research findings.
A free online resource that provides information on how genetic variation affects drug response. It contains clinical guidelines, drug label
annotations, and curated pathways relevant to pharmaceutical research.
Dryad is an open data publishing platform and a community committed to the open availability and routine re-use of all research data.
