Follow these steps to use keyword combinations to find articles on surgical topics. This "building block" approach will allow you to expand and/or narrow your search focus.
- Go to CINAHL Complete
- Select these Limiters: Published Date 2020-, Peer Reviewed, and Randomized Controlled Trials.
- In the 1st search box, enter this combination of terms related to surgery:
surg* OR postsurg* OR post-surg* OR presurg* OR pre-surg* OR preop* OR pre-op* OR periop* OR peri-op* OR postop* OR post-op*
- In the 2nd search box, add terms related to a type of surgery, for example:
orthopedic OR arthroplasty OR knee OR hip OR ankle
- In the 3rd box, add the term: nurs*
- Click search and scan the results. You can add terms to a 4th search box if you want to narrow the focus, for example: recovery or rehabilitation
Notes on this search:
- surg* will search for surgery, surgeries, surgical, surgeon, etc.
- AND = find all my words -> narrows search results
- OR = find any of my words -> expands search results
Another search tip!
You can specify where to find your search terms, for example MW: Word in Subject Heading
