MEDLINE Search Strategies for Literature on Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders

PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW: The purpose of this study is to examine the professional health literature on Asian American/Pacific Islanders in MEDLINE, review the guiding indexing principles used in MEDLINE, and present suggestions on how to most effectively search for material in the database. SEARCH METHODS USED: The authors conducted database searches in MEDLINE and examined the National Library of Medicine indexing principles related to Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders to develop database search strategies. SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT FINDINGS: Two factors which contribute to the difficulty in identifying health literature on Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders are the small amount of material published when compared to other ethnic groups and the complex nature of indexing in MEDLINE that may create problems for less experienced database searchers. MAJOR CONCLUSIONS: Additional journal publications concerning Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders, a more thorough understanding of how the literature on this group is best retrieved from MEDLINE, and the development of more user­friendly approaches to the National Library of Medicine databases will aid researchers interested in this ethnic group. KEY WORDS: Asian Americans, MEDLINE, periodicals, databases, bibliographic