Searching the medical literature

Before you start searching for information in Library databases, it's always worth spending some time thinking about your search terms before you begin and how these will be combined. This process is known as devising your search strategy. You can then apply this across all of the databases you use. This guide takes you through the key steps in conducting a thorough literature search.

This guide will help students and staff undertaking a thorough review of the literature. (Go here for the systematic literature review guide). 

1. Do some background reading - try reference material, books, website
2. Define your question 
3. Formulate the search topic and create an initial search strategy by establishing useful keywords and thesaurus terms, and limits to your search
4. Identify the databases to use
5. Test your search strategy
6. Review your results and revise your search
7. Conduct the search or searches
8. Save useful searches
9. Evaluate your results
10. Manage your results e.g. in EndNote (or other bibliographic management software).
11. Record what you have done throughout your search

If you are undertaking a systematic literature review, or a systematic review in Health, Medicine or Clinical Psychology and need to learn more about the literature searching part we have developed a new guide which contains more detailed advice than this one.