This screenshot shows how I set up my search in CINAHL (EBSCO) using the Advanced Search interface. Note how each line of the search represents each concept. I generated this by running a search just for my elderly terms. Then, I started a new search just searching for dementia. I repeated this process for the music therapy and quality of life search lines. Lastly, I used the Search History feature to combine all these individual search lines by selecting "ALL" and then using the "Search with AND" button which runs all the searches together, bringing back only the results that have at least one word from each line.
Note: You don't necessarily have to enter all parts of your question into your search, it just depends. If I wasn't finding anything on my topic, maybe I was being too specific, so I'd consider leaving some of the terms out to see what affect that would have.
Expect a bit of trial and error as you work to combine your search terms into a search that produces some useful results. Don't panic if your first search isn't that great. It's more typical to have to revise your search and see if you can do better.
Note: The Advanced Search page also provides the option to set a date-range limiter, which is useful if you want to focus on research published in the last 20 years. Check your assignment instructions if you're not sure about how current your articles should be.
This screenshot shows how I set up my search in Medline (OVID) using the Advanced Search interface. The default search is Keyword, which will search for your terms in a variety of fields, like title and abstract. Title and abstract are important fields to search when looking for articles on a particular topic.
Note: Before running any of your searches, make sure you turn off the "Map term to subject heading" feature. That adds a whole other layer of complexity which we're not looking at for this assignment.
Like in the CINAHL example above, each line of the search represents each concept. I generated this by running a search just for my elderly terms. Then, I started a new search just for dementia. I repeated this process for the music therapy and quality of life search lines. Lastly, I used the Search History feature to combine all these individual search lines by selecting the check box beside each line and then using the "Combine with AND" option. This will run all the searches together, bringing back only the results that have at least one word from each line.
Again, expect a bit of trial and error as you work to combine your search terms into a search that produces some useful results. Don't panic if your first search isn't that great. It's more typical to have to revise your search and see if you can do better.
To combine your individual search lines, use the Search History feature, which is found above the search box. You will need to click on it to see all the searches, then you can select them all to combine them with AND.
Once you have combined your search, you can add a date limiter.
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