Quick and dirty searching

You know, sometimes you just need to find something on a topic really quickly. Here's a way to do that. After determining just what it is that you looking for and prioritizing the concepts, look for the highest priority concepts to be in the title of the article.

Examples

You're looking for the effects of children's exposure to violence. Here's what you might try:

OVID: violen$.ti. and (expos$ or witness$).ti. and child$.ti.
[alternate: (violen$ and (expos$ or witness$) and child$).ti.]

PubMed: violen*[ti] AND (expos*[ti] OR witness*[ti]) AND child*[ti]

You're looking for the management of abruptio placentae. Here's what you might try:

OVID: manage$.ti. and abruptio placenta$.ti.

PubMed: manage* AND abruptio placenta* Only this time, click on Limits and choose Title from the All Fields drop-down. Then click on Go.


FYI

• This technique shouldn't be used when doing an exhaustive search.
• This technique is quick with a high degree of relevance.
  
• Tip for authors: don't use 'cute' titles for your articles.
• This technique also works well when you're trying to identify the appropriate subject headings for an elusive topic.