Search Principles in Other Databases

In most library databases—but not PsycINFO!⁠—searching works best if you connect your key terms together using AND and OR to tell the database how to group the terms. For example:

For more information on combining search terms, watch the Putting a Search Together video.

Search Principles in PsycINFO

In PsycINFO, instead of typing out a search string like the example above, you should combine your initial Subject Heading searches using their numbers in the search history.

Here is an example PsycINFO search history. The numbers in the “Results” column show how many matching articles there are for each search.

To combine the searches, you can use the numbers given on the left side of the search history and enter them into the Advanced Search box using AND, OR, and parentheses to connect them. Similar searches should be connected with OR and put in parentheses, and searches for different concepts should be connected with AND. Here is an example of how the searches above could be combined:

Once you combine your searches, another line will be added to the search history. The number of results should be much lower than those for your initial Subject Heading searches. For example, the search below shows only 17 results when all of the initial Subject Heading searches are combined.

Then you can scroll down the page and start to look at the search results. If you don’t find relevant articles the first time, try changing the way you search. Try combining different sets of terms to see what retrieves the best results. Consider using broader or narrower Subject Headings or adding related terms to your search.

Video Demo: Combining Your Searches

Check Your Understanding

Imagine you are researching whether exposure therapy is an effective treatment for phobias. Use this example search history to answer the two questions below.

In the next section, we’ll explore how to add relevant limits to your search results.