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Management in Heath & Social Care for Healthcare Library: Databases

Search for articles on a topic

There are 2 ways of searching for articles on a particular topic:

1. for a quick and basic search try the Library Search on the homepage

2. for more detailed searching search the databases outlined on the this page.

Key databases

Databases are subject based search engines that enable you to search across a large number of journals (mainly peer-reviewed) at the same time. 

Below is a list of key databases for health management (click on the database name to access it). 

Online videos on using databases

Key tips for database searching

  • break your search/topic down into 2 or 3 key concepts
  • think of keywords, including synonyms, for each key concept
  • for the main databases, such as HMIC, search for your keywords, for each concept, one at time
  • once you have searched for each keyword separately use OR to combine the synonyms and then, AND to combine each concept
  • As a general rule, use OR to combine similar subjects, for instance "service development" OR "service improvement"
  • Use AND to combine different subjects, for instance "service development" AND "workforce planning"
  • use the limits in the databases to further reduce your search results - for instance, you can usually limit to years of publication or English language only
  • searches carried out on the databases can be saved or alerts created, you just need to set up an account within the database

Example:-

Review the literature on patient involvement in cancer care.

Concept 1: cancer care OR cancer services OR palliative care OR end-of-life care

AND

Concept 2: patient involvement OR patient participation