The Advanced Search page is a great place to start because:
*It can do more than one type of search at a time
*It has several limiting features which help make searches more effective
What are the Best Search Strategies to Use?
Can I use quotation marks to search multiple words as a phrase?
Quotation marks aren't needed; this database automatically searches multiple terms as a phrase.
Using the following techniques will greatly facilitate your searching:
Start with a simple search on an intervention or outcome central to your research. Remember, there are only 4000 total reviews here.
Example: deep vein thrombosis
Broaden the search by using OR
(Separate search words with OR and enclose in parentheses if all terms are on one line.)
Example: deep vein thrombosis OR venous thrombosis
Narrow the search using AND to combine terms (this will not often be necessary in Cochrane) Example: thrombosis and surgical patients
(This search will find articles that contain both terms)
