Psychology: Troubleshooting your search strategy

 Use this checklist to assess the effectiveness of your search strategy:

• Is your search precise and comprehensive, covering relevant psychological theories, constructs, and terminology and using all the relevant synonyms?
• Are you retrieving a manageable number of results from key databases like PsycINFO, Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science?
• Are the results relevant to your research question or hypothesis?
• Are you identifying core articles that are central to your literature review?
• Have you examined the keywords and subject headings used in those core articles to refine your search?
• Are you seeing duplicate results across different databases (a sign of good coverage)?
• Are you using a variety of search techniques, such as Boolean operators (AND, OR), phrase searching, and truncation?
• Have you included a range of source types, such as peer-reviewed journal articles, systematic reviews, books, theses, and grey literature?
• Are you searching across multiple databases, including both subject-specific and multidisciplinary ones?
• Have you documented your search process (eg search terms, filters, databases used) for transparency and reproducibility?
• Are you identifying gaps in the literature or areas that require further research?
• Are you keeping your search up to date, for example by setting up alerts for new publications?
• Are you critically evaluating the sources you find for methodological quality, relevance, and credibility?

Are you getting too few results from your database searches? Try these options:  

• Use broader or more general keywords
• Remove a concept
• Add more synonyms and relevant related terms
• Use truncation or wildcards (eg behavio*) to capture word variations
• Use both keyword searches and subject heading searches, where available
• Check spelling and formatting (eg ANDs/ORs, truncation etc)
• Remove filters (eg date, publication type)
• Try different databases
• Look at reference lists and cited documents of key articles

NB If you have considered all of the above and still aren't getting many results, it may be necessary to broaden your research question. Discuss with your supervisor for further guidance. 

 Are you getting too many results from your database searches? Try these options: 

• Use more specific keywords
• Add another concept 
• Check all your search terms are relevant
• Ensure you are using phrase searching where applicable (eg "cognitive behavio* therapy") 
• Check formatting (eg ANDs/ORs, truncation etc)
• Limit search to titles and abstracts, if appropriate for your review
• Refine by methodology or population, if appropriate for your review (eg meta-analysis, young adults)
• Apply filters, if appropriate for your review (eg date, publication type)

NB If you have considered all of the above and are still getting too many results, it might be necessary to refine your research question. Discuss with your supervisor for further guidance.