Search terms are the main part of your search and it's helpful to create a list of terms related to your study before you begin searching. There are two types of search terms that you should integrate into your searches: Keywords and Subject Headings.
Below are some tips to create your search terms. Remember to add synonyms and common or scientific names for your terms!
Note: Searching the terms “alternatives” or "3Rs" alone may not be the most effective strategy. The use of “alternatives” as a search term is best used only in those areas of study where larger amounts of research have been conducted on alternatives, such as in toxicology or education. Instead, use examples of the 3Rs to find relevant search results. See the Search Examples and Prepared Keywords page for ideas.
Keywords are the words you would expect to find in an article's title or abstract. This is the most common method of searching.
This method is the best choice if you are searching for very specific terms or terms that are new (e.g., a brand new technique), as these are less likely to have subject headings.
Subject headings, aka called controlled vocabulary, are used to classify information into specific categories and allow you to locate focused, on-topic results.
You need to search the exact term, so look up concepts before you search. Look in your database for a thesaurus or major concept tab. Not all databases have this feature.
Below are examples of subject headings/controlled vocabulary you may encounter in an animal use alternatives search. You can also browse these to come up with ideas for your keywords!
PubMed is one of the best database options for an animal use alternatives search, so there's a good chance you may come across MeSH. This is used by PubMed, Medline, and some other medical-focused databases.
These terms are organized into a hierarchy, that help you easily broaden or narrow your terms. You can search for specific MeSH terms here. PubMed can also identify MeSH terms in an abstract and return similar articles using MeSH on Demand. Users will greatly benefit from learning the structure of MeSH terms using PubMed tutorials.
The National Agricultural Library's Thesaurus is maintained by the National Agricultural Library. It allows you to search your concept and see broader, narrower, and related terms.
Maintained by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). AGROVOC is a multilingual and controlled vocabulary that covers concepts and terminology related to FAO's areas of interest.
Group your search terms by concept and apply database syntax and logic to make your search more effective. See the tips below.
Note: Specific operators and how to use them depends on the database you use. Different databases sometimes use different symbols to represent the same operator, so check the database documentation or help section.
Do you have a specific article that you know is relevant to your study? Run a cited reference search!
This method searches for records that cite a published work and can be a great way to find additional articles. Use this method in addition to your search with keywords and subject headings.
Databases like Web of Science have built-in features to perform these searches. Google Scholar can also be used to quickly find some relevant articles. To perform a cited reference search, copy the title of a scholarly article into the Google Scholar search bar and click “Cited by X” to find relevant articles. Just remember not to use it as a primary searching database.
