Systematic Searching Strategies

1. Systematic Searching
Strategies
Presented by Ho Nhu Ngoc

2. 3 Basic for Your Rigorous Searching
• More keywords
Main keywords
Variation keywords
• More database
Leading Database (e.g. Scopus, Science Direct)
Supporting database (e.g. Google Scholar, Dimension)
• Variation searching technique
Advanced searching (e.g. full search string & partial search string)
Manual searching (e.g. handpicking/handsearching, snowball, emailing
established scholars/ prominent authors)

3. 3
Process
1. Identification
2. Screening
3. Eligibility

4. 1. Identification
A process to enrich your keywords.
How to enrich your keywords?
• Synonym
• Related terms
• Variation
How search synonym, related terms
and variation?
• Thesaurus online
• Keywords from previous research
• Keywords suggested by database (e.g. Scopus)
• Ask expert

5. LEADING DATABASE : SCOPUS
Click “Advanced”
Don’t forget to click
“Advanced”

6. Field Code
Function

7. Keywords inside the
bracket
Database will search the
exact keywords in 3
important parts in the
article (title, abstract &
keywords)

8. Phrase searching
symbol
PHRASE SEARCHING

9. Without Phrase
Searching

10. Database will provide any articles that
include your keywords :
climate OR change OR adapt OR any
combination of keywords.
Higher document
results

11. Less documents
than before
database search the
EXACT keywords of
“climate change adapt”

12. Truncation Symbol
TRUNCATION

13. Without Truncation
Symbol

14. Truncation symbol increasing
the document results

15. For Singular/Plural
or British/American
WILD CARD SYMBOL

16. Without Wild
Card Symbol

17. Wild Card symbol increasing the
document results

18. Used to include synonym,
related terms and variation
of keywords
BOOLEAN OPERATOR - OR

19. Without Boolean
Operator - OR

20. Boolean
Operator - OR

21. To include
our next
keywords
BOOLEAN OPERATOR - AND

22. Without Boolean
Operator - AND

23. Boolean
Operator - AND

24. Field code function
Phrase searching Truncation
Boolean
Operator - OR
Boolean
Operator - AND
Wild card
Must included DOUBLE
BRACKET in earlier & end
of the search string

25. 2. SCREENING
A process on which articles we
want to review (filtering process).
How to choose articles that we
need to review?
• It must be based on criteria: -
Timeline publication
Publication type
Language

29. 3. ELIGIBILITY
Second process of screening.
Process where the authors manually
monitored the retrieved articles to
ensure all the remaining articles (after
the screening process) are in line with
the criteria.
How to run second process of
screening?
Read title
Read abstract
Read the whole article

30. SUPPORTING
DATABASE
https://app.dimensions.ai/discover/publication

31. BOOLEAN OPERATOR - AND
2ND keywords
without bracket

32. 2ND keywords
inside bracket

33. all keywords
inside bracket
without AND

34. BOOLEAN OPERATOR - OR

35. Without Phrase
Searching

36. Phrase Searching

37. Field Code
Function