Module 2: Formulating a Research Question and Searching for Sources
Identify Search Terms (Keywords)
Identifying , (also known as search terms) is important for effective literature searching. Your search terms are terms that will appear somewhere within the resource (e.g. title, abstract, or author keywords).
You can identify search terms from your research question by highlighting, underlining or circling the main ideas that must appear in the article. Your search concepts are the most important words in your research question.
Example
What are the keywords you identify within this research question?
“What is the relationship between flexible work schedules and staff retention?”
Keywords are easier to identify once the research question has been formulated using one of the stated frameworks (e.g. PICO or PS) listed in Table 2.2 of Formulating a Research Question.
Below is an example of how to use the PICO(T) framework to identify search concepts for a specific research question.
Example
Say you have the following research question: How effective is cognitive behavioural therapy in improving mild-to-moderate depression in adolescents? Let’s break down the formula components by concept.
| Formula component | Concept |
|---|---|
| Patient, Population or Problem (P) | Adolescents with mild-to-moderate depression |
| Intervention (I) | Cognitive behavioural therapy |
| Comparison, Control Intervention (C) | There is no concept here |
| Outcome (O) |
Symptom reduction |
Learning Activity
Identify Search Concepts
Drag and drop the correct search terms using PICO (Patient/Population/Problem, Intervention, Comparison/Control, Outcome) for the following research question:
Frandsen, T. F., Nielsen, M. F. B., Lindhardt, C. L., & Eriksen, M. B. (2020). Using the full PICO model as a search tool for systematic reviews resulted in lower recall for some PICO elements. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 127, 69-75.
A word or concept of great significance. In Library research it denotes an informative word used in databases to help retrieve relevant documents.