DENTHYG 3410

When searching the literature, you want to make sure you are searching for all the possible variations and different words that could be used to describe your topic.  For example, using both the terms cavity and dental caries.

Each database will have its own special set of terms or subject headings that the indexers use to describe articles.  When developing your search strategy, it is always a good idea to take a look at the subject headings for that database to ensure you are using the official term, as well as to get ideas for synonyms or alternative keywords to use.  Below are descriptions of some of the commonly used subject headings.

MeSH

Used by the National Library of Medicine to index MEDLINE/PubMed, MeSH stands for Medical Subject Headings.  MeSH terms are organized in a tree structure that moves from more general to more specific.  Each term will have "Entry Terms", which are synonyms that PubMed will automatically map to the MeSH term when searched.  To search the MeSH database, select MeSH from the drop down menu next to the search box, or select MeSH Database under More Resources on the PubMed homepage.

CINAHL Headings

These are the subject headings used within the CINAHL database.  They are often the same as the MeSH term used in PubMed, but they can be different.  To access the CINAHL Headings, click the link at the top of the database screen.  If you are searching more than one Ebsco database, you can hover your mouse over Subjects, then select CINAHL Headings from the list.

Dentistry & Oral Sciences Source -- Subjects

Even within EbscoHOST, different databases will use different subject headings.  Within the Dentistry database, many of the subject headings can be different.  For example, the D&OSS term for dental anxiety is "fear of dentists".  Access these subject headings by clicking the "Subjects" link at the top of the database screen.  If you are searching more than one Ebsco database, you can then select the D&OSS -- Subjects.

The databases will often not understand your query if you enter it as a natural language sentence, such as your full research or PICO question.  Instead, you want to use the keywords that you brainstormed to create an advanced search strategy.  By using Boolean Operators, you can tell the databases precisely how you want your keywords to be searched. 

AND Limits your search to articles that contain both of the keywords Narrows or focuses your search; you will typically get fewer results the more ANDs you use Use AND between different concepts For example: dental anxiety AND music therapy
OR Expands your search to articles that contain either of the keywords Broadens your search; you will typically get more results the more ORs you use Use OR between different keywords for the same concept For example: dental anxiety OR dental fear OR dental phobia
NOT Excludes a term from your search Narrows or focuses your search; you will typically get fewer results the more NOTs you use For example: dental anxiety NOT BE CAREFUL!  It is very easy to exclude too much and accidentally miss important and relevant literature. Try to use combinations of AND and OR, then exclude results yourself, instead of using the Boolean NOT

Lastly, when creating a more complicated or advanced search, you can use parentheses to group your keywords together and tell the database precisely how you want the terms searched.  The database will perform the searches within parentheses before the searches outside of parentheses.  This is similar to the way parentheses are used in math.

Use parentheses any time you have more than one keyword for a particular concept.  In other words, when you are using the boolean operator OR, put parentheses around all of the OR'ed terms.

For example: (dental anxiety OR dental fear OR dental phobia) AND (music therapy OR music)