The basic evidence based research steps are:
- Begin with a problem or issue stated as a question. 1 2
- Plan your search for the levels of evidence you need. 3
- Search for secondary or primary sources and primary evidence. 4 5
- Evaluate your results. 6 7
- Implement your findings. 8 9
- Publish your findings to build the evidence base. 10
Appendixes
References
About the tool
Use advanced or guided search boxes.
Place keywords (PICO) in separate search boxes linked with AND. (A&B&C&D)
No results? Check your spelling.
Too many results?
- Change from searching your keyword in any field to subject. {Subject is more focused search}. Most databases have a Subject Headings List, Thesaurus of Descriptors, or MESH terms.
- Add another term or phrase - scan your results for relevant terms.
- Use NOT to indicate irrelevant search terms you do not want to receive in your results.
- Use database limiters to narrow your results by date.
- Use database limiters to narrow your results by peer reviewed or refereed publications.
Too few results?
- Use synonyms for your search terms.
- Drop the least important concept from your search.
- Look at the most relevant citation's index terms and keywords for search terms.
- Using the best article found, look up the footnotes in the article OR look up the article's citation and find out who has cited the article.
Full text not found?
Hint: Google Scholar http://scholar.google.com or Worldcat.org may be used as federated search tools for a comprehensive systematic search. Once citations are found, library databases may be used to locate full text articles. Google Scholar also helps locate essays in books.
Evaluate Study Examples