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Search Assist

Create and refine database search strings from your research question.

Building a strategy

Open Search Assist and describe your research question in one or two sentences. Select Generate search strategy. Generating a strategy costs 1 credit and usually takes about a minute.

  • Existing search strings (optional): paste up to 10 of your own search strings to receive feedback on them.
  • Databases (optional): select the databases you want to use. If you leave this empty, Search Assist chooses databases suited to your question, usually three to six.
  • Records you can screen (optional): enter your target number of records. Search Assist uses this to guide the breadth of the strategy.

What you get

  • Interpreted as: a summary of how Search Assist understood your question. Check this before using the strategy.
  • Syntax problems: issues identified in the search strings before they run.
  • How broad is this search: a live count of matching records, with Narrow and Broaden controls to adjust the strategy.
  • On your existing search strings: feedback on gaps in any search strings you provided.
  • Concepts & terms: the subject headings (such as MeSH and Emtree) and free-text terms for each concept, listed separately.
  • Search strings: a query for each database, written in its required syntax, with notes and a Copy button.

How broad is this search?

The count shows how many records match your PubMed search string, including its subject headings. If the strategy has no PubMed string, such as for a computer science question, you see an approximate count across disciplines instead.

Each bar shows the number of records matching one concept before the concepts are combined. The widest bar identifies the concept with the most matches. Any terms PubMed could not match are listed so you can replace them. Use these counts to assess the search's breadth; they do not provide the records themselves.

Narrow, Broaden and notes

Select Narrow to make the search more restrictive, or Broaden to add synonyms and relax restrictions. Each adjustment updates the record count and shows the change. If you entered a target under Records you can screen, Search Assist also suggests whether to narrow or broaden the search.

For a specific change, enter instructions under Anything specific to change? For example, explain an acronym that has more than one meaning in your field. Then select Narrow, Broaden or Apply note. Each adjustment costs 1 credit and updates your current strategy.

Databases

Search Assist writes search strings for 14 databases: PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL, PsycINFO, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, Compendex, Google Scholar, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, medRxiv and arXiv.

Each string uses the selected database's supported field tags, operators and vocabulary. Copy the string into that database to run it; Search Assist does not retrieve the papers for you. Use Discovery to search directly in Abstractus.

Keeping your strategy

Copy any search strings you want to keep before reloading the page. Search Assist retains your results when you switch tabs, but clears them when you reload.