Planning a search is a combination of problem solving skills and basic technical skills. You need these skills to implement your search using the interface of the database(s) you choose, for example NHS Evidence's Health Care Databases Advanced Search [HDAS].  

Definitions

Before you read this page, here are some definitions of terms frequently used when talking about searching:

Journal article: an article from a journal, usually from a peer reviewed journal, publishing research on a single topic. Typical peer reviewed journal articles contain a literature review, a description of the research methodology used, the results of the research, discussion of the implications of research, occasionally suggestions for further research on the topic and a bibliography.

Bibliographic record: is a single computer record of the information that comprises a reference to a journal article, typically Author(s), Title of Article, Title of Journal, Volume, Issue and Page Number(s). In addition there may be an Abstract summarising the contents of an article, Keywords that describe the topic of the article and a link to the Full Text of an article.

Database: a database contains bibliographic records of journal articles. The size of databases ranges from hundreds of thousands of records to millions of records, for example, BNI, CINAHL, EMBASE or MEDLINE.  

Search strategy: the strategy we use to search databases to find only the articles that are relevant to the topic we are interested in.

The Problem Solving Approach

The problem solving approach means breaking down research questions into small logical steps. You have to start by articulating your problem as a question or sentence. Here are some examples from recent requests for help from the NWAS Library & Information Service:

• Find recent research on the use of mentorship programs with paramedics in training.
• Finds articles on how ambulance services mitigate the risks associated with the provision of care of the bariatric patient.
• Find any information on Community First Responders [CFRs] relating to policies regarding the development of CFRs and future directions.
• Find research on 360 degree feedback processes in the context of appraisals, reviews and personal development.
• Research on Ambulance Services and successful approaches to the ethnicity monitoring of services including approaches which have worked well in other healthcare settings.
• Find research on the treatment of spinal injuries in prehospital emergency care.
• Find any research on whether paramedic advanced life support improves mortality for adult patients suffering non-traumatic prehospital cardiac arrest.
• Find recent research on the efficacy of Paramedic endotracheal intubation.
• Find recent research on the use of Ketamine in the pre-hospital environment.

Analysing Research Questions

The best way to analyse a research question is to break it down into the concepts or ideas you would like to find in an article on the topic. For example using the research question "Find recent research on the use of Ketamine in the pre-hospital environment" we could identify the following concepts:

You then need to identify words which describe these Concepts, words that you will use in your search. For example we could add the following keywords:

Implementing your Search

To prepare your search plan you need to understand how to structure your search so that you can input it into a database. This section takes you through Truncation, Boolean Searching and using Phrases.

Truncation

Truncation is a technique to help you to search for words that have multiple or plural endings. It uses the * character sometimes called a wildcard. If you want to search for paramedic or paramedics you should type paramedic*. If you want to search for analgesic, analgesia or analgesics you should type analgesi*. This finds all words beginning analgesi whatever the ending.

Boolean Logic - AND OR NOT

You need to link concepts and keywords together in a way that a database can process. You do this using the Boolean Logic - AND OR NOT.

Using Boolean Logic

Phrases

In some instances concepts or ideas cannot be expressed as a single keyword, for example Emergency Medical Services or chronic renal failure. Most databases will treat these as phrases and search for exact examples of those phrases in the database. Some, like NHS Evidence require you to put them in parenthesis, for example "Emergency Medical Services".