Searching for articles in the medical literature

Finding articles in the medical literature involves consulting indexes and abstracts either in print or on computer. Searching the literature involves: defining the information need, selecting the proper database or index, breaking the need into its component parts, identifying synonyms for each concept using a thesaurus and other search aids, prioritizing concepts, constructing logical relationships between concepts, and selecting the source. Searching in the correct database or index is also important. Knowledge of basic information search techniques and principles will benefit the searcher and increase the likelihood that the search results will be useful.