Keyword searching is where you choose relevant synonyms for your search terms, and search for those words within different fields, such as the title or abstract.
Example search topic: Palliative care of terminally ill patients with melanoma.
For the Melanoma search term, synonyms we could include are: melanoma*, “skin cancer*”, “cancer of the skin”, “skin neoplasm*”, “neoplasm* of the skin”, “skin carcinoma*”, “carcinoma* of the skin”, melanotic, “malignant lentigo”, “lentigo maligna”.
Type your chosen keywords into the search box, and select a field to search in using the Select a Field drop down menu:
Click the Search button:
Repeat this process for each of your concepts.
Example search topic: Palliative care of terminally ill patients with melanoma.
For our search example, we would also search for subject headings and keywords on the palliative care concept.
Once you have searched for all of your concepts, it is time to combine your search terms.