Step 5. Search Fields

For the free-text terms you identified in Step 3, you need to decide in which fields you want to search. Choose a search-field descriptor that searches at least the title and abstract field. 

TIP! Search fields vary from database to database. It is therefore important to become familiar with each database you would like to search. Each database has a Help function which outlines the different search fields available and what they search.

Here is a selection of search fields you may like to choose for some of our UTAS databases:

• Medline via PubMed: Title/Abstract [tiab] searches title, abstract and authors' keywords. For topics that are not core medical or less well indexed All Fields may be a good option.
• Medline via Ovid: you can combine search fields, by selecting the Search Fields menu and ticking the relevant fields; e.g. ti: Title, ab: Abstract, kf: Keyword Heading Word
• Embase: you can combine search fields, by selecting the Search Fields menu and ticking the relevant fields; e.g. ti: Title, ab: Abstract, kf: Keyword Heading Word
• PsycInfo: you can combine search fields, by selecting the Search Fields menu and ticking the relevant fields; e.g. ti: Title, ab: Abstract, id: Key Concepts
• Web of Science: Searching the Topic field TS= searches the title, abstract and author keywords within a record
• Scopus: provides a search field Article Title, Abstract, Keywords TITLE-ABS-KEY; if this results in too much noise you may like to search TITLE-ABS() OR AUTHKEY() - this searches author keywords only
• CINAHL: possible to search Title TI or Abstract AB
• Google Scholar: possible to search in Title intitle:

Example

For each of the free-text terms in your Concept Table, decide in which fields you would like to search. The choices vary between the databases, so you need to decide this for each database.