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Evidence Based Practice

  • Evidence Based Practice
    • Formulating Questions
    • Acquiring Evidence
    • Appraising Evidence
    • Tools & References
    • Teaching EBP
  • Clinical Resources

Developing a search strategy for primary literature

When searching primary literature, you will need to translate the structured clinical PICO question, into a search strategy that can be entered into a database in order to retrieve relevant literature.

1) Translate major concepts into search terms

Identify the major concepts of your question and translate natural language to keywords, subject descriptors, MeSH terms or other controlled vocabulary terms.

Start with the P and the I only to begin your search and keep initial search results broad.

P I chart

Combine the terms with boolean operators: cross infection AND  (Handwashing OR Hand disinfection)

2) Narrow your search with filters

After viewing the initial search results you may decide to narrow your search with terms for the Comparison, Outcome, Time factors or Type of study. Or you may view results, abstracts, and full text of articles to view the comparison and outcome elements.

View examples of clinical questions translated to database searches
examples of questions
*Heneghan, C., & Badenoch, D. (2002). Evidence-based medicine toolkit. London: BMJ Books.
 
See a listing of clinical filters for searching Medline/PubMed

Therapy Problems– The best single term strategy is Randomized Controlled Trial [pt] 

therapy problems chart

Watch a tutorial on searching PubMed for a PICO question using MeSH controlled vocabulary.

Suggested databases from UAMS Library

These databases are suggested for searching the literature for EBP. UAMS affiliates may need to log in with their credentials to gain access to all full-text articles and products subscribed to by the library on your behalf. Individuals who are not affiliated with UAMS may contact their institutional library or Arkansas Regional Center Library to inquire about access to specific materials or products.

Search the primary literature

  • PubMed This link opens in a new window
    PubMed, a product of the US National Library of Medicine, is a large database of journal article citations covering topics from pre-clinical areas (molecular biology, genetics) to clinical medicine and more general areas such as healthcare legislation and policy. The full text of many articles is available free through links in PubMed.
  • CINAHL Complete This link opens in a new window
    Index of over 4,300 journals from the fields of nursing and allied health, with indexing back to 1937. Searchable cited references for more than 1,500 journals. Full text for over 1400 journals, plus legal cases, critical paths, research instruments and clinical trials.
    Tutorial available at http://support.ebsco.com/cinahl/
  • PsycINFO (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
    Database of journal articles, book chapters, dissertations & other sources from the American Psychological Association.
  • TRIP (Turning Research Into Practice) Database Pro This link opens in a new window
    Simultaneously search for systematic reviews, practice guidelines, medical image databases, e-textbooks, etc.

Search filtered publications

These are secondary resources which are appraised and reviewed for quality and relevance to evidence based practice.

  • Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Ebsco) This link opens in a new window
    A bibliographic database that provides a highly concentrated source of reports of randomized controlled trials. Records contain the list of authors, the title of the article, the source, volume, issue, page numbers, and, in many cases, a summary of the article (abstract). They do not contain the full text of the article.
  • UptoDate This link opens in a new window
    You can now log into your UpToDate account using Single Sign-On [SSO]. This allows you to authenticate your account from anywhere with your UAMS login and you no longer need to authenticate onsite every 90 days. New users can also register for an account remotely or through the mobile app without having to first create an account on the UAMS network. Simply enter your UAMS email on the UpToDate login page and enter your credentials when prompted. Connect your existing UpToDate account to your UAMS login without losing your CME, bookmarks, or account settings by following the instructions in the linked tip sheet.

    Concise topic reviews of published evidence with recommendations for patient care. Includes Lexi-Interact drug interactions analysis tool. Earn CME/CE/CPD credit every time you research a clinical question using UpToDate.

​Visit the UAMS Library A-Z listing page for a complete listing of electronic resources and databases available from UAMS Library.

  • << Previous: Formulating Questions
  • Next: Appraising Evidence >>
  • : Dec 6, 2024 11:15 AM
  • URL: https://libguides.uams.edu/evidence_based_medicine
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Subjects: Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health
Tags: clinical resources, EBM/EBP, evidence based practice, health professions, Medicine, research
 
 

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