Search Strategies / Boolean Operators
This operator combines search terms so that only records containing both terms are returned.
What is AND?
This acronym represents a structured formula used in evidence-based practice to break a broad clinical topic into four clear, searchable parts: Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome.
What is PICO?
Used to generalize beyond a specific situation and to make predictions about what should happen in other similar situations
What is theory?
This PICO component may contextualize your research to a specific medical condition
What is population/problem?
An intervention is this type of variable.
What is an independent variable?
This operator opens a search by returning results containing either search term.
What is OR?
This definition "Defines a construct according to its specific, unique meaning within a study", i.e. it specifies exactly how a variable will be measured or manipulated in a study, or defining a concept in terms of how you plan to measure that concept.
What is an operational definition?
Logic that develops generalizations from specific observations
What is inductive reasoning?
This PICO component may define how the treatment is being evaluated.
What are outcomes?
An outcome is this type of variable.
What is dependent variable?
This boolean operator excludes specific terms from your search results to filter out unwanted information.
What is NOT?
When going a bit deeper/more specific, into the independent variable, these are the different conditions of the INDEPENDENT VARIABLE, sometimes called 'arms' of a study.
What are the levels?
Acceptance of a general proposition and subsequent inferences that can be drawn
What is deductive reasoning?
This PICO component may define the treatment being evaluated.
What is intervention?
A sound experimental design manipulates this, and only this, type of variable.
What is an independent variable?
Using this punctuation around a phrase tells a database to return the exact phrase.
What are quotation marks?
A type of hypothesis that has an expected trend/outcome of a relationship between variables
What is a directional hypothesis?
This is tested to evaluate if a theory is valid in certain circumstances.
What is hypothesis?
An example of this PICO component may be function, strength, or pain.
What are outcomes?
A study assessing 3 different interventions incorporates this feature of independent variables.
What are levels?
In PubMed, this search strategy searches articles for concept rather than by exact wordage.
What is MeSH?
This component of PICO, specifies the result of the experiment/study.
What is the outcome?
This is the process by which evidence is evaluated for quality and applicability to the question of interest.
What is critical appraisal?
An example of this PICO component may be a sham intervention.
What are comparison variables?
In observational studies, the terms "exposure" or "predictor" are sometimes used to describe this type of variable.
What are independent variables?