KU Medical Library - CINAHL

Searching CINAHL works similarly to other research databases. Among these shared aspects are:

• Basic searching: You can simply type in keywords to run a search. For example, just typing: cancer treatment elderly
• Advanced searching: As with other databases, CINAHL accepts the standard Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT. You can also build a proximity search using the 'N' (Near) and 'W' (Within) operators. (See the Advanced Searching tab for more information.) For example, CINAHL would understand: (cancer OR neoplasm OR tumor) AND treatment* AND (elderly OR older adult* OR aged)
• Subject term searching: CINAHL Headings are the CINAHL equivalent to MeSH in PubMed and Emtree in Embase. (See the CINAHL Headings tab for more information.) So, in CINAHL you could run this search: ((MH "Neoplasms+") OR cancer) AND ((MH "Therapeutics+") OR treatment* OR therap*) AND ((MH "Aged+") OR elderly OR "older adult*")

More on Basic Searching

Basic searching in CINAHL works like searching in other research databases like PubMed and Embase: you can simply type a few words into the search box and run your search. This kind of search is helpful when you are just beginning your research or exploring a topic broadly. For example, entering cancer treatment elderly will bring back articles that contain those three words anywhere in the record. It’s a fast way to get an overview of what the database holds, but it also means results can be uneven. You may retrieve a mix of highly relevant studies alongside less useful items where the words happen to appear. 

To give your basic search more power you can try a few things. For example, try a few variations of your keywords. Plural forms, alternate spellings (like tumor vs. tumour), and common synonyms can all affect what you find. Using quotation marks around phrases (e.g., "older adult") can also help keep words together and narrow your results. You can truncate terms with the asterisks: searching for treat* would return any term that starts with treat such as treatment, treated, and treats.

While basic searching is not as precise as advanced or subject heading (CINAHL Headings) searches, it is often the easiest way to get started and to see how a topic is discussed in the nursing and allied health literature.

In addition to CINAHL, you can search multiple EBSCO databases at the same time, as long as you are just using keywords and not subject terms. Click Searching: CINAHL Ultimate and you will see a list of other EBSCO databases offered by the KU Library. You can mark Select all to search across all of the EBSCO databases or just check the boxes for the ones you want. 

You can simply type in keywords into the main search box in CINAHL without Booleans (AND/OR/NOT). That said, you can have more control of your search by refining the syntax. As you type CINAHL will suggest possible search terms to you; just click on the one want or ignore the suggestions and click Search: