Skip to main content

Literature Searching: follow these steps to save time and plan your literature search

By

 Want to get the best evidence quickly? Need to get the right information and latest research to write great assignments?

Make sure you plan your literature search to get the best information efficiently.

Key steps

Follow these key steps to save time.

  1. Take time to prepare your search plan
  2. Analyse your question to focus your search
  3. Develop your search skills and learn to combine searches and use a thesaurus
  4. Make sure you use the right resources to get to the best information for your question
  5. Evaluate your search results for good quality evidence
  6. Use information ethically to avoid plagiarism
  7. Learn about different ways to communicate your work
  8. Stay up-to-date with new information during your project

Good quality resources

Use good quality resources. Our library services subscribe to healthcare focused resources including books, ebooks, journals and databases. These will help you to find good quality information. Take a look at our resources pages to access these essential reosurces:

More help

The Health Library is here to help you! To learn more about literature searching you can:

Just get in touch with us if you have any queries or need more help.




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New to Research? Your toolkit just got a whole lot stronger

By
 If you’re an early career researcher in nursing or medicine, you’ve already got enough on your plate—balancing clinical work, study, and the steep learning curve of research. That’s exactly why we’ve put together the Health Library’s Researchers’ Toolkit for NHS staff . It’s a one-stop hub designed to make your research journey smoother, faster, and a whole lot less overwhelming. Whether you’re planning your first study, polishing a dissertation, managing an audit, working on a quality improvement project or trying to make sense of the world of publication, the Toolkit is packed with practical, bite-sized guidance to help you get there confidently. You’ll find: Information about the Health Library to help you prepare Help in constructing your research question Step-by-step support for literature searching, critical appraisal, and referencing Links to trusted resources tailored to healthcare research Help with writing and publishing Think of it as your research companion—always acc...
Post a Comment
Read more

Easily make requests at the Health Library

By
 Get in touch with the Health Library easily using our online forms, available to you any day, any time. Make a request when it's convenient for you. Just complete the relevant form , submit and we'll get back to you. You can: Request books and articles not in our collections Request a literature search Suggest new stock for our collections Provide feedback on our services Download a membership form Book training Sign up for KnowledgeShare screen-shot of the find a form page showing the forms available All the online forms are easily accessible from the Find a Form page on our website.
Post a Comment
Read more

Search Smarter: our Information Skills eTutorials help you to prepare

By
 Whether you're settling into university life, juggling clinical placements, or stepping into your first professional role, one thing is clear: being able to find, judge, and use information confidently is a game‑changer. That’s where the Health Library’s Information Skills eTutorials come in. These short, practical online modules are designed to help you build the research and information‑handling skills you’ll rely on throughout your studies and your healthcare career—and you can complete them anytime, anywhere, at your own pace. Why bother with information skills? Searching for good information can sometimes feel overwhelming. Databases, keywords, journals, evidence hierarchies, critical appraisal… It’s a lot. But strong information‑seeking skills don’t just make assignments easier—they make you a safer, more informed healthcare practitioner. Reliable evidence underpins everything from clinical decisions to patient education, and the sooner you feel comfortable navigating it, t...
Post a Comment
Read more