LibGuides: Searching: Complex Searches

A complex search uses specific combinations of multiple terms to hone your search result to the desired outcome

Trawl to net lots of results A Sensitve search is used to trawl for a wide variety of results Trawler blue left

A Specific search will pick out a much narrower selection Find specific records

You have done a simple search....Here are the possible stages for doing a complex search strategy. Look at tabs for more information and links for each section

1: Identify terms Help with finding all the relevant words for a comprehensive search

2: Group terms Create an initial Search Strategy

3: Select Sites and Databases Choosing the best places to look for your particular enquiry

4: Create and Adapt Strategies Tailoring your search to each database

Review your terms each time. Consider alternative spellings. Wild-Cards permitted?. Truncation available? Keyword searching? Search fields?

5: Run the searches Assemble your terms and enter. Make use of any specific features.

6: Modifying the initial search Addressing issues of quality and quantity of results.

Too few? : Try combining fewer concepts Too many?: Look at limits - by date - by article type - by location...

7: Assessing quality What is worth keeping? Working towards critical appraisal

8 Saving Results The options available for storing, reviewing and referencing your articles

9 Fuller Guidance: Resources that take you through all the stages:

Identifying Terms

Try and identify as many relevant terms as possible. This will help make the search more Sensitive

Try also to identify the most relevant terms. Using these could make the search more Specific Find specific records

Try a Clinical Question:

Grouping your identified terms & creating a question can help you to focus Practice Here
Find out about Thesauri:

Authors often use different terms for the same topic, like: Heart attack / myocardial infarction /MI. This can make searching hard.
However the database cataloguers group all such similar terms under a unique keyword. In Medline / Pubmed this is called a MESH term. (Medical Subject Heading).
The MeSH headings are included on each record. So if you know the right MesH headiing you can pick up a wider range of relevant articles.

See a sample database record Here.

MH is the 'MeSH field. You may need to tweak your search to include this field in it.

MeSH terms are arranged in a hierarchy - like a family tree. More? >>

Search For Mesh terms here on Pubmed site

You might also like:

NHS Literature Searching Course Module 6 Searching with Subject Headings

Other Sources

Look in Systematic Reviews for search terms

Look in published papers for key words

Find Mesh Terms on Pubmed Papers

Do simple searches on google

A 'Target Phrase' might lead to answer you want.

You can use OR (in caps!) to use any alternative terms in the phrase See Google guide (Section 4 ) for further tips.

- See alternative terms in the results.snippet

Try Medical Dictioniaries

Grouping Terms

Correctly grouping relevant alternative terms together can make the whole, or parts of the search more Sensitive

Correctly grouping very precise terms can make the end results more Specific Find specific records

Create a Framework

Group your terms together according to the different areas that frame your search.

Such frameworks may include sections such as:

The Situation
The Actions
The Results
A Comparison

PICO is the best known one : Patient Intervention Comparison Outcome

To read about others Click HERE Click HERE for a blank PICO sheet 'The Literature Search Process' and example Read more about using PICO itself

Group all similar Terms

Each framework section may have several different terms. The similar terms must be grouped together.

Here's some terms to describe Older hypertensive men with Type 1 diabetes

PATIENT
Male	Type 1 diabetes	Elderly	High blood pressure
Men	Type 1 diabetic	Aged	Hypertension
	Insulin dependent diabetes mellitis
	IDDM

Combine the Terms

First group any multiple equivalent terms with OR and use brackets.
Then combine these groups - and any individual terms with AND

(Male OR Men) AND (Type 1 Diabetes OR Type 1 diabetic OR Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitis OR IDDM) AND Elderly AND ( High Blood Pressure OR Hypertension )

( You can do this automatically and then do a search with the Search Whiteboard tool )

Further Help

Boolean logic : For Quick Powerpoint intro download HERE For more detailed explanation download HERE For summary sheet see HERE

Adapting Strategies

Terms may be needed to modified, depending on the database used or to focus the search in particular area - like the title of an article

See the Tab 4

SELECT SITES ( in draft)

Choosing where to look:

Choosing where to look depends on several factors:

What is the subject area? What sort of query is it? Who is it for? What level of detail is required? Do you want original material or synthesis ? Published or unpublished ?

Where to Look 5

Graphic Source: See Notes below table

Guide to Resources
Source	Comment
General Internet	A general search on the internet will often bring you up some initially apparently relevant results. More so if you have the skills to limit and hone your search terms. However you cannot guarantee that the most reliable information appears first nor that the information provided is accurate, current or unbiased, so you need to be quite savvy. Google Scholar is a better site in this regard

Google: Better Searching

Dedicated sites that either filter or search a subset of reliable information: Nice Evidence, Trip, NHS.uk, Patient UK ( See where to look tab )

Point of care tools such as Uptodate enable you to focus into solutions for clinical problems very quickly

Some specialisms have dedicated data bases, like PeDro for Physios. Professional Bodies and colleges also also have their own dedicated websites

Government departments. Health and Safety, Environmental monitoring

If you are in a specialised field then it may be worth searching on a particular journal first only eg Journal of Clinical Oncology is often used in this way.

Notes on Graphic

This original graphic is entirely based on personal observation and opinion.
The aim is to cut text and represent the sort of sources that might me appropriate for some typical tasks.

It can be very easily edited.
The original sheet is here.
Please contact me if you have some improvements and suggestions david.newman4@nhs.net

General Internet: Major search engines

IN EDIT Nov '17

Alternative spellings.

Some search engines do this automatically but some might use wild cards * or ?

glyc?emic may give glycemic andglycaemic

Stemming gives you all the variations of endings to a word but plurals are now often put in automatically

Prevent* would get prevent, prevents, preventing, prevention...

You can search in different parts of the result, like Title, URL.Domain Name: Methods vary:

Trip uses title:

title:"Heart attack"

Google uses intitle:

intitle:"Myocardial Infarction" (Lower case, so space after colon )

See below for a self-teach resource on Google with lots of useful hints and tips.

Google: Better Searching

Coming Soon...

Coming soon

Resources:

'The Literature Search Process' Excellent tabbed tutorial from Duke University Here

Recording Form and Example Here

Searching: Complex Searches

COMPLEX SEARCHING (In Edit!)