5 Searching for Evidence 95
through the interlibrary loan service. This request may be free if the local library
is affiliated with a university or institute, but it may require a fee if the request
for resources is made from a public library.
Summary
This chapter illustrates how to use the PICO as a guide for literature searches. An
essential component of EBP, the literature search is important to any research-
and-publication activity because it enables researchers to acquire a better under-
standing of the topic and an awareness of relevant literature. Information spe-
cialists, such as medical librarians, can help with complex search strategies and
information retrieval.
Ideally, an iterative search process is used and includes: examining indexed da-
tabases, using keywords in searches, studying the resulting articles, and, finally,
refining the searches for optimal retrieval. The use of keywords, controlled vo-
cabulary, Boolean operators, and limits plays an important role in finding the
most relevant material for the practice problem. Alerting services are effective in
helping researchers keep up-to-date with a research topic. Exploring and select-
ing from the wide array of published information can be a time-consuming task,
so plan carefully so that you can carry out this work effectively.
References
Bramer, W. M., Giustini, D., & Kramer, B. M. R. (2016). Comparing the coverage, recall, and
precision of searches for 120 systematic reviews in Embase, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar: A
prospective study. Systematic Reviews, 5 (39). doi: 10.1186/s13643-016-0215-7
Hartzell, T.A., Fineout-Overholt, E., Hofstetter, S., & Ponder, E. (2015). Finding relevant evidence
to answer clinical questions. In B. M. Melnyk & E. Fineout-Overholt (Eds.), Evidence-Based
Practice in Nursing and Healthcare: A Guide to Best Practice (3rd ed.) (pp. 40–73). Philadelphia,
PA: Wolters Kluwer Health.
Johns Hopkins University—The Sheridan Libraries. (2010). Expository writing:
The research process: Evaluating sources. Retrieved from http://guides.library.jhu.edu/
content.php?pid=24792&sid=179624
Johnson, J. H. (2015). Evidence-based practice. In M. J. Smith, R. Carpenter, & J. J. Fitzpatrick
(Eds.) Encyclopedia of Nursing Education (1st ed.). (pp. 144–146). New York, NY: Springer
Publishing Company, LLC.
