Reference notes
Coverage
Question framing · concept table · Boolean search · search log · stopping rules
Sources
NLM PubMed · Cochrane Handbook · PRISMA-S · Google Scholar
Last reviewed
August 2026
Prepared by the Manusights editorial team.
Research-start worksheet
Turn a research question into a search you can explain and repeat
A good literature search is not one perfect query. It is a documented process of defining concepts, testing language, searching appropriate sources, and learning from what you find.
Use this worksheet for a paper, thesis, proposal, or early literature review. A systematic or scoping review needs a protocol, specialist methods, and often a librarian-led search review in addition to these basics.
The six-step search workflow
Work in order, but expect to revise your terms after the first search.
- 1
Define the question
Write one sentence that names the population or setting, the central concept, and the outcome or phenomenon you need to understand.
- 2
Split it into concepts
Put each main idea in its own column. Do not search the whole question as a sentence.
- 3
Expand the vocabulary
Add synonyms, spelling variants, acronyms, broader terms, narrower terms, and controlled vocabulary used by your database.
- 4
Build and test the search
Combine alternatives with OR, combine concepts with AND, then inspect whether the first results match the question.
- 5
Search more than one source
Choose databases that fit the discipline and include citation chasing or a multidisciplinary index when the topic crosses fields.
- 6
Record what you did
Save the database, platform, full query, filters, date, and result count so you can explain, update, or repeat the search.
Fill this in
Concept and term worksheet
Example question: How is sleep duration associated with anxiety among university students?
| Concept | Keywords and synonyms | Controlled vocabulary |
|---|---|---|
| Population | university student* OR college student* OR undergraduate* | Add the subject heading used by each database |
| Exposure or topic | sleep duration OR short sleep OR sleep deprivation | Sleep Duration, Sleep Deprivation, or local equivalent |
| Outcome | anxiety OR anxious OR anxiety disorder* | Anxiety, Anxiety Disorders, or local equivalent |
Starter query
(university student* OR college student* OR undergraduate*) AND (sleep duration OR short sleep OR sleep deprivation) AND (anxiety OR anxious OR anxiety disorder*)Syntax varies by database. Check phrase searching, truncation, field labels, and controlled vocabulary before copying a query between platforms.
Keep a search log
- Database and platform: for example, MEDLINE on PubMed or MEDLINE on Ovid.
- Date searched: record the full date so an update can begin from the right point.
- Exact query: keep the complete, runnable string rather than a summary.
- Limits and filters: language, date, study type, population, or other constraints.
- Results and notes: result count, useful terms discovered, and what you changed next.
Know when to ask for help
- Your topic crosses disciplines and you are unsure which databases cover it.
- The search returns thousands of loosely related records or almost nothing useful.
- You need a systematic, scoping, rapid, or other evidence-synthesis search.
- You need grey literature, dissertations, trials, standards, patents, or non-English sources.
- You must document the search for a protocol, grant, thesis, journal, or regulatory process.
Your subject librarian can help identify databases, controlled vocabulary, and overlooked source types. This worksheet is designed to complement that local expertise.
Primary and established sources
PubMed User Guide
Official National Library of Medicine guidance for fields, phrases, filters, history, and search details.
Cochrane Handbook, Chapter 4
Detailed guidance for identifying studies when a review needs a comprehensive and auditable search.
PRISMA-S
A reporting checklist for literature searches used in systematic reviews and related evidence syntheses.
Google Scholar Search Help
Official help for author, title, date, related-article, and cited-by searching in Google Scholar.
Related guides in this collection
Organize citations
Set up a clean reference-management workflow after you begin collecting sources.
Plan a systematic review
Use the fuller evidence-synthesis workflow when comprehensiveness and auditability are required.
Plan research data
Decide how files, documentation, access, and preservation will work before collection begins.