Fine-tuning your search

You can fine-tune your search by using the databases' filters. Filters are selected based on the decisions you described in the protocol. Filters may include:

  • Language of publication;
  • Publication period;
  • Article/journal (Systematic Review, Randomized Controlled Trial, academic journals);
  • Age of the research participants
  • Gender of research participants;
     

Pro tips:

  • Be careful when using the Full Text option; the article may not be available via the current database, but you may be able to find it through another source.
  • In PubMed, you may lose the most recent articles if you use the database's filters. For more information about this database, also see the Library Guide PubMed.

I get too many results, what should I do?

Your search may produce too many (irrelevant) results. However, what is considered too much may vary between research topics, databases and individuals. A summary of possible causes and corresponding solutions is shown below.

 

Cause: Solution(s):
Too many broad or generic terms
  • Replace generic terms for more specific search terms.
  • Enclose multi-word search terms in double quotation marks
  • Add search fields to your query, such as title or abstract
Too few sub-topics
  • Add a new sub-topic to your search string; each additional AND reduces the number of search results;;
  • If possible: split a topic into two or more sub-topics
Truncation sign yields irrelevant variations
  • Remove the truncation mark and write out the intended word variations.
Subject header or MeSH term has (too) many irrelevant subterms 
  • Consider carefully whether or not to include the subcategories of a subject header. See also "how to use thesauri"'

 

I get too few results, what should I do?

It is possible that your search may also yield too few or no results. In that case, first check your search string for spelling or typing errors and consider applying the following suggestions: 

 

Cause: Solution(s):
Search terms that are too narrow
  • Add more generic search terms
  • Remove double quotation marks
The spelling and/or use of a relevant subtopic varies in different fields of research.
  • Apply truncation to find more variants
Too many suptopics (too many ANDs)
  • Omit a (less relevant) topic
  • If possible: merge two partial concepts: substitute an AND for an OR
The database has no relevant articles in this topic
  • Select a different source or database

Useful links and resources

 

If you have questions, please contact the Information Specialist Research of your research center, or go to support & contact for more information and advice. 

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