MEDLINE Searching Strategies

Logical Operators

Logical Connectors

These little words go by many names: Logical operators; Boolean connectors; Linking words

AND	Joins concepts together into one search set. HYPERSENSITIVITY And STUDENTS, MEDICAL would yield only articles which include both concepts. A sample article title: Susceptibility to and incidence of hand dermatitis in a cohort of apprentice hairdressers and nurses.
OR	Joins concepts together into one search set and is used to gather synonymous terms or allied concepts together STUDENTS, MEDICAL or EDUCATION, MEDICAL or SCHOOLS, MEDICAL or FACULTY, MEDICAL or ACADEMIC MEDICAL CENTERS This ORed set might result in the comprehensive set "on medical campuses," ASPIRIN or IBUPROFEN or ACETAMINOPHEN This ORed set might produce a result comparing a few commonly self-prescribed over-the-counter medications
NOT	Is used to remove a concept from your search strategy. EUTHANASIA not kervorkian.tw would yield articles indexed to the term EUTHANASIA but eliminate any which use the word kevorkian in the title or abstract. ASPIRIN not COMMON COLD will eliminate any article indexed with the term COMMON COLD from a listing of articles about ASPIRIN