Phrase searching is looking up phrases rather than a set of keywords in random order. By using phrase searching, it narrows search results by being precise about how you want the words to appear. Databases can use different symbols to search a phrase, however the most common way to search is with "quotes around the phrase".
- For example, if you are searching for information on patient satisfaction then you are probably looking for those two words to appear right next to each other, with no other words in between, in the text of the document. To make sure that the database searches this correctly you can put quotation marks around your search term and force the database to search this as a phrase - "patient satisfaction".
- Use caution when using many phrase searches since if you put many words in quotations the database might not not find any results. Try to use only established phrases that can be expected to be used by authors.
"Patient satisfaction" AND ("wait time" OR "time factors")
