• Keyword searching is what most people are familiar with.  
• Subject searching can take more time but tends to yield better results.  
• Not all concepts have subject headings, and sometimes, you will want to use both strategies.  

Tips for Keyword Searching 

• Use synonyms  
• Truncate: In a lot of databases, the symbol is “*.” For example, diagnos* will bring up articles with diagnosis, diagnosing, diagnostic, diagnostics, etc. 
• Spelling: For instance, pediatrics or paediatrics. For more British spellings, you may want to look at this site https://www.lexico.com/grammar/british-and-spelling    
• Use fields like abstract or title: One way to limit results to more relevant items is to look for keywords in the abstract or title of an article.  

Tips for Subject Searching  

• Look for the suggestions in the database. For example, MeSH in PubMed or “Suggest Subject Terms” in CINAHL.  
• Search each concept separately so you can take advantage of term mapping.  
• If the term does not map the first time, try a synonymous term. You might also try searching for your term in the title of articles and then look at the subject terms (a.k.a. headings).