Search Using the PICO(T) Framework
The search videos on this page all use the PICO(T) framework, but please note that PICO(T) may not always be the most appropriate framework to help you to identify relevant evidence for your particular issue. Contact your librarian for assistance with other frameworks.
When searching for evidence for clinical questions or issues, you should at mininum search the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE (either through PubMed or another interface such as EBSCO, and CINAHL.
If your issue or topic is related to psychology or has a mental health focus, you should also search APA PsycINFO. Depending on your topic, other databases may also be relevant to search.
Depending on the availability of literature on your topic or question, you might try searching Google Scholar to supplement your searches of the above databases, but it should NEVER be used exclusively.
Strategies for Effective Database Searching - 2 videos
The Cochrane Library - 2 videos
Wright State University does NOT currently subscribe to the Cochrane Library, so we cannot access current subscription-based content. However, the Cochrane Library is still searchable and Cochrane Reviews are still indexed for MEDLINE. Also, many Cochrane Reviews are available as open access after one year. If you need a Cochrane Review that requires a subscription or fee, please contact your subject librarian.
The main reason to search the Cochrane Library is to find Systematic Reviews in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, but the Cochrane Library also provides abstracts of clinical trials, some of which are also indexed in PubMed and CINAHL. It will also retrieve abstracts of clinical trials from journals that are indexed in Embase or clinical trials that have not been published but are registered at clinical trials.gov.
The published clinical trials may include randomized controlled trials that you will not find in your searches of other databases.
PubMed - 7 videos
- PubMed This link opens in a new windowPubMed provides free access to the National Library of Medicine’s (NLM) premier database – MEDLINE, as well as citations and abstracts from national and international journals and other content not indexed for MEDLINE. PubMed covers all aspects of biomedicine including allied health and other fields as they relate to medicine or healthcare.
These PubMed videos were created by Ximena Chrisagis and assigned a CC-BY-NC-Attribution License.
CINAHL - 4 videos
- CINAHL This link opens in a new window
Search journal literature related to nursing and the allied health disciplines. Also contains early-release citations for pre-published journal articles.
APA PsycINFO - necessary only for psychology and mental health-related questions
- APA PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
Indexes psychology literature and related disciplines including psychiatry, medicine, nursing, pharmacology, cognitive science, and linguistics. Includes journals and book chapters. Use Historic PsycINFO to identify literature published as early as the 1920s. Links occur to full-text when available.
These APA PsycINFO videos were developed by APA Publishing under a standard YouTube license.
