CINAHL Basics provides guidance for conducting searches in the CINAHL database. It recommends beginning searches with subject headings and keywords, choosing the desired specificity. Users can select the "explode" or "major concept" options, where explode searches for more specific related terms and major concept finds only the most important topics. The document also notes that subheadings allow for highly targeted searches and other narrowing options are available on the left sidebar.

1. CINAHL Basics

2. Begin with subject headings

3. Type in keyword; choose how
specific you want to be

4. Click on box beside correct term

5. Explode or Major Concept?
• Major concept = the article was indexed with
this as one of the most important topics
• Explode = the major concept + all the subjects
that are more specific to the concept.
Example:
– Alcohol Related Disorders is more specific than
Substance Abuse Disorders and can be included if
SAD is “exploded”

6. Subheadings allow you to be very
specific with narrowing your search
Click Search
Choose as many as
you like or go with
the default of
“Include All
Subheadings”

7. More ways to narrow are on the left
hand side of the page…