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Drexel Library

Database Searching in the Health Sciences

Overview

This guide is an overview on the steps to take when searching on library databases for health sciences literature and resources. Often times we think that searching databases can be like a Google search where we can type in a few words to get what we need. While you can run simple Google-style searches, database searching for scholarly sources usually requires more thought and effort, which pays off in both the quality and quantity of results.

Whether you are looking for evidence based practice, conducting a systematic, scoping or simple literature review, this guide will help you to better understand how to navigate databases with confidence.

If you have questions on searching or on any other library research related matter, please contact us at libassist@drexel.edu to work with a librarian.

Make sure to access databases directly from links on Drexel University Libraries webpages and guides. All users will be prompted to log in with their Drexel credentials in order to access resources, full-text PDFs and Interlibrary Loan links.

If you are a Drexel College of Medicine Affiliate Faculty, Resident, or Staff Member having trouble with access, please make sure you completed an application for NEA.

Steps to searching

Search Topic
An overview of how to identify an answerable research question or topic. Reviews idea of Background and Foreground questions. For in-depth clinical questions, consider using the PICO(T) forma to develop a well defined topic.
Selecting Databases An overview of the most common health science and biomedical databases. Some research topics can be interdisciplinary in scope and databases outside of the health sciences should also be considered.

Building a Search Strategy

Step by step instructions on how to create a search strategy. This includes picking key concepts, identifying the keywords and search terms, and how to combine concepts together using Boolean Operators - AND, OR, and NOT.
Running the Search This page goes over how to conduct a search in selected database, including notable differences in platforms such as use of controlled vocabulary.
Evaluating Results and Refining After the initial search is conducted in a database start to evaluate the results and consider refining the search. A search can be narrowed or expanded by adding filters or limiters.
Citation Management After running your search, save the results using Citation Management tool. Software programs and tools like EndNote and Zotero can be used to manage, save results and build bibliographies in any style format.

Library Resources on Conducting Searches