Literature search

Participants learn practical strategies for finding relevant academic literature and managing large result sets. We demonstrate how to build effective block searches using subject terms, synonyms, Boolean operators, phrase searching, truncation, and filters. Participants then apply the techniques in hands-on exercises. 

We also cover the benefits of searching curated databases with reliable content, consistent indexing, and quality control. The focus is on choosing the right type of literature, refining searches to produce manageable results, and using controlled vocabularies to create transparent, reproducible searches and identify sources suitable for academic work and evidence-based decision-making.  

We address the following questions:

• How do you determine which database is most relevant for your research topic?  
• How can you find relevant subject terms?  
• How do you conduct an advanced search?  
• How do you save searches and documents?  
• How do you access articles and other sources?  
• How do you export references to reference management tools?