The search strategy is an important aspect of a literature review as it involves retrieving the majority of the studies that will be assessed for eligibility and inclusion (University of Michigan Library, 2021). The quality of ones search strategy also affects what items may be missed. The ultimate search strategy gets reported in the methods section of a review. A search strategy should include both keywords, which help broaden the results, and index terms that help focus the search appropriately (University of Michigan Library, 2021). The search results can also be broadened or narrowed by using Boolean operators which are used to connect the search words together (MIT, n.d.). The three basic Boolean operators are AND, OR, and NOT. AND and NOT narrows the results while OR broadens the results (MIT, n.d.).
In regards to my research on microplastics, I am examining their correlation with health and the current policies that have been created regarding microplastics. I will be utilizing the CDCs Stephen B. Thacker Library, GCU Library, and Google Scholar for my research. The limiting criteria will be published within the past 5 years and that the articles are peer-reviewed. One string search I will use is microplastics OR MP AND health and the other will be microplastics OR MP AND policy OR law OR legislation.
References
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). (n.d.). Database Search Tips: Boolean operators. Retrieved January 15, 2021, from https://libguides.mit.edu/c.php?g=175963&p=1158594
The University of Michigan Library. (2021). Systematic Reviews: Creating a Search Strategy. Retrieved January 15, 2021, from https://guides.lib.umich.edu/c.php?g=283340&p=2126706
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