1. Use Keywords
Break down your topic into main ideas and brainstorm related terms and synonyms for your main concepts.
2. Search broadly to start. Use OR to search for all iterations of your concepts.
3. Narrow your topic as necessary, keeping in mind the following:
Enclosing a phrase in quotation marks is another way to narrow your search.
If you are using Google, use it effectively and efficiently. Remember the below tips that we discussed:
PubMed is the go-to resource for scientific literature in the biomedical sciences. It is a very powerful tool; remember to use the following steps to locate literature that you can use in your lab reports.
1. Keywords
Start with keywords. Consider carefully whether or not you will use quotation marks or truncation, as this removes the "mapping" feature of PubMed.
2. MeSH
Search for MeSH terms on your topic using both the Advanced Search and the MeSH thesaurus available in the top dropdown menu. Searching the thesaurus allows you to locate helpful subheadings.
3. Reviews
Review articles summarize the literature and research on a topic, are sometimes easier to read and understand, and can be helpful in pointing you to other references.
4. Refine
You may need to add extra keywords to your search in order to get the most on-topic result.