Search Examples

When searching for scientific publications, you need information sources that are suitable for your topic and field of study. You can find the publications you are looking for in relevant databases using your search phrase and search techniques if needed. The search phrase and techniques must match the database you choose.

This page contains examples of different databases and their features, as well as practical information retrieval examples suitable for several study fields. Getting familiar with the database examples will help you make effective use of the functions of the information source you choose. The examples related to topics are also useful for brainstorming your own topic.

Retrieving information from databases

In addition to book and article references, UEF Primo provides access to the most important academic databases, ranging from multidisciplinary collections to databases specialised in specific disciplines, such as medicine or linguistics.

Despite the differences in the layouts of databases’ user interfaces and the ways in which the search can be narrowed or broadened, the basic functions of databases remain similar; the search is always based on Boolean logic.

In some databases, such as Web of Science and Scopus, you will also find information about the citations that articles receive, and they, for example, also calculate an h-index for the researcher (see Library Vocabulary: h-index). Many databases also have a built-in thesaurus, from which you can find index terms or subjects suitable for your topic.

Before starting the search in practice, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the features of the database, either from its own instructions or from the quick instructions below.

Database examples

The following links take you to ThingLink presentations. The searches for the examples were done in summer 2023.

EBSCOhost
- Academic
- APA Psycinfo
- ATLA
- Business Source
- CINAHL
- EconLit
- MLA
- SocINDEX
Finna.fi
Medic (example only in Finnish)
ProQuest
- ERIC
- Social Science Premium Collection
PubMed
Scopus
UEF-Primo
Web of Science

Information retrieval topics and search queries

Use these practical examples when forming search terms and queries for your own search topic.

In the examples below, we start with the topic and proceed to the search techniques. Natural language words, concepts and index terms matching the topic are combined into search queries using Boolean logic, phrase search, truncation, and brackets. You can replace the search terms used in the examples with words suitable for your topic.

Example topics

The following links take you to ThingLink presentations. The searches for the examples were done in summer 2023.