5 Searching for Evidence 87
use in the nursing, public health, psychology, social work, communication, sociol-
ogy, and organizational behavior fields.
Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro)
The Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) is a free resource that contains
over 33,000 citations for randomized trials, systematic reviews, and clinical prac-
tice guidelines for physiotherapy. The Center for Evidence-Based Physiotherapy
at the George Institute for Global Health produces this database and attempts to
provide links to full text, when possible, for each citation in the database.
Creating Search Strategies and Utilizing Free Resources
In the following section we will cover the necessary components used to create a
solid search strategy. Databases are unique, so the components you select when
creating a search strategy will vary; not every search strategy will utilize every
component. The end of this section includes a list of free, reliable resources with
descriptions explaining the content available in each resource. Remember to
check with your local medical library to see what additional resources may be
available to you.
Key Components to Creating Search Strategies
After appropriate resources are identified to answer the question, the EBP team
can begin to create a search strategy. Keep in mind that this strategy needs to be
adjusted for each database. Begin by breaking the question into concepts, select-
ing keywords and phrases that describe the concepts, and identifying appropriate,
controlled vocabulary. Use Boolean operators (AND, OR, and NOT) to combine
or exclude concepts. Remember to include spelling variations and limits where
necessary. Note that the search strategies for PubMed and CINAHL in the previ-
ous sections were created by combining the AND and OR Boolean operators.
Use OR to combine keywords and controlled vocabulary related to the same
concept: (“Attention” [MeSH] OR distraction). Use AND to combine two sepa-
rate concepts: (“Attention” [MeSH] OR distraction) AND (“Medication Errors”
[MeSH] OR “medication errors”).
