The example below shows how Ovid Nursing Database can be used to construct a search for a clinical question. Let's say I am interested in the research on prone positioning for people with acute respiratory distress. This gives me two different ideas to search, which I want to combine:
In order to put these together in Ovid, I need to be in the Advanced Search. The database will not let me combine the different searches if I use the basic search. After I combine these, I also limit the search to research within the past 5 years.
Lastly, I select a few articles, and add them to my search history in order to easily access those articles again. It is also a good habit to save any articles you want to use another way (e.g. downloading on your device and/or emailing the articles) as a backup.
To begin, I select All Resources and OK
In order to build a search, I need to go to the Advanced Search. From here I enter in my first idea, prone OR proning, and click Search
I can click on the Search History to view the search details. And now, I am going to search for my other concept.
Still in the Advanced Search, I put in "acute respiratory distress" OR ARS and click Search. Using quotes around "acute respiratory distress" keeps that phrase together
Then, from the Search History, I select the two searches and Combine with AND
This gives me 371 results
Some of these results are older, so I am going to scroll down and filter to sources from within the Past 5 years
I'm going to select the sources that interest me. I might want to look on other pages of the search, too. When I am done, I will filter by Selected Only
I scroll to the top, and click Keep Selected to add these selected searches to by Search History
I can Copy Search History Link to view these selected searches again later
The best way to learn this database is to experiment with the different features and filters. Happy searching!