Step One: Identify the topic and consider two to three concepts that directly relate to the topic.
Use the chart below as a guide.
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Topic/Question:
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Can altruistic behavior help break cycles of addiction?
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Concepts/keywords:
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Altruism
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addiction
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Consider alternative keywords for the concepts
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Altruism
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Addiction
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empathy
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Drug addition
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Compassion
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Drug rehabilitation
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Step Two: Develop a search strategy using the keywords and/or phrases. Less is more; start with a few keywords and if necessary build a more comprehensive search. See search tips below.
Step Three: Recognize that databases have similar features, such as “limiters” or ways to narrow the search results (e.g., date of publication, peer-reviewed journal, and full-text). Apply limiters if necessary.
Step Four: View the results. If the search strategy did not return any results try changing the keywords.
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Search tips for PsycINFO (EBSCOhost)
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Use
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Purpose
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Quotation marks
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Exact phrase searching
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AND
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Combine terms
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NOT
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Omit or ignore a term
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OR
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Expand the search to include either or both terms
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Parenthesis
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Structure a Boolean (AND, OR, NOT) search
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*
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Truncate a term or complete a phrase
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?
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Wildcard used to replace a single letter
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#
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Wildcard used for alternate spellings
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N and a number
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Finds terms near x terms
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W and a number
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Finds terms within x terms in order
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Try not to use punctuation
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Databases ignore these unless it is a question mark
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Try not to use stop words
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Databases ignore these
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