Searching library databases is different from searching Google or other search engines. You need to use different techniques to find what you need. One strategy is to search using keywords.
Sample topic: impact of social media on the mental health of teenagers in Canada
1. Identify the main concepts or the most important parts of your topic.
Concepts: social media, mental health, teenagers and Canada.
Avoid using general terms like "effects”, “impacts” or "challenges" and try to use more specific terms.
2. Combine the different concepts using AND to find sources with all of the concepts
3. Think of other keywords, synonyms, related words, and spellings for each of these concepts to get better search results. Use OR between the synonyms and keywords.
Keywords for social media: Instagram, Facebook, "online communities"
Tip: Use quotation marks (") to search for exact phrases, such as "social media", "online communities"
Tip: Use an asterisk (*) to find variant endings, spellings for a root word. Example: Canad* will retrieve words starting with the root Canad, such as Canada, Canadian, Canadians etc.
4. Combine the keywords and synonyms into a search such as the following:
AND
AND
AND
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Tip: Make one or more of your concepts more specific. Example: replace "mental health" with anxiety. |
Tip 1: Make one or more of your concepts broader. Example: replace older adults with adults Tip 2: If you are searching by four concepts, drop the least important concept from your search. |
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Tip: Use database search filters. Example: date of publication, publication type, language (and/or other criteria) |
Tip: Add more synonyms or related terms with the OR operator. Example: treatment OR therapy OR medication |
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Tip: Limit your search to a specific part of the document. Example: title, abstract, or subject |
Tip: Use truncation to broaden your search by using the asterisk Example: agress* will include results for aggressive, aggression. |
To evaluate your search results, check out the PsycInfo list of results. Did you get too many (100+) or too few (less than 20)? Too many or too few require tweaks to the search strategy.
Also look at the first screen of results to see if most of your records are on topic. Check the title of the article, year of publication, abstract, descriptors / subject headings, and methodology. If you review your results list and many articles are not on topic, you will need to revise your search. Make a list of new terms to search by using the subject headings and/or using the PsycInfo thesaurus to find more relevant terms to search by.
In the sample topic of "impact of social media on the mental health of teenagers in Canada", the following record from PsycInfo would be highly relevant.
Title of Article: Increases in serious psychological distress among Ontario students between 2013 and 2017: Assessing the impact of time spent on social media
Year of Publication: 2021
Abstract: Objective: The objective of the current research was to examine the association between time spent on social media and serious psychological distress between 2013 and 2017, a period when the rates of both were trending upward. Methods: The current study analyzed population-based data from 3 waves of the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey ( N = 15,398). Multivariate logistic regression models were used to examine the association between time spent on social media and serious psychological distress controlling for theoretically relevant covariates. Interactions were tested to assess whether the association changed over time. Results: The prevalence of serious psychological distress increased from 10.9% in 2013 to 16.8% in 2017 concomitantly with substantial increases in social media usage, especially at the highest levels. [abstract continues]
If your research question is broad or if you are wanting general or overview information, Omni can be a better place to search. Omni is useful for books, book chapters, and videos (for example, conducting therapy sessions). The Resource Type limit within Omni can support a more focused search.
Examples:
Books & eBooks
Book Chapters
Videos
Reference Entries