Research Question: Write your research topic as a question. Be sure that your question accurately summarizes your research topic.
Major Concepts: Examine your research question, what are the major concepts? The chart will help you identify good search terms.
Database Search Strategy Table: Use the table below to organize your thoughts before beginning your search.
Example research question: Does vitamin D supplementation improve bone density in postmenopausal women?
| Major Concepts | Key Words (Synonyms, brand names, abbreviations) |
| Vitamin D | Vitamin D, cholecalciferol, ergocalciferol, calcitriol, vitamin D3, vitamin D2 |
| Bone density | Bone density, bone mineral density, BMD, bone health, osteoporosis, bone mass |
| Postmenopausal women | Postmenopausal women, menopause, postmenopause, older women |
Search strategy templates
Very basic: (Vitamin D) AND (Bone density) AND (Postmenopausal women)
More advanced: (Vitamin D OR cholecalciferol OR ergocalciferol OR calcitriol OR "vitamin D3" OR "vitamin D2") AND ("bone density" OR "bone mineral density" OR BMD OR "bone health" OR osteoporosis OR "bone mass") AND (postmenopausal OR menopause OR postmenopause OR "older women")
Example search strategy for the research example in the table above: ("vitamin D" OR cholecalciferol OR ergocalciferol OR calcitriol) AND ("bone density" OR "bone mineral density" OR BMD OR osteoporosis) AND (postmenopausal OR menopause OR "older women")
Always search databases through the UAB Libraries access. And look for this button to link you to full text:
Then follow the images below to PDFs.
