ALL: Using the text entered into the Search Phrase field, search for all articles that contain this text within the title or abstract along with any articles that are indexed using Medical Subject Headings(MeSH)/Supplemental Keywords that have also been entered into the Search Phrase field. If the search phrase field contained the text string "Back Pain AND Therapy" the results would contain all records that have the words "Back Pain" along with the word "Therapy" in the title OR abstract ALONG with any article that has been indexed with the words "Back Pain" AND "Therapy" since those words are Medical Subject Headings.
TITLE: Using the text entered into the Search Phrase field, search for all articles that contain this text within the title of the article ONLY. If the search phrase field contained the text string "Back Pain AND Therapy" the results would contain all records that have the words "Back Pain" along with the word "Therapy" in the title of that record.
TITLE & ABSTRACT: Using the text entered into the Search Phrase field, search for all articles that contain this text within the title OR abstract of the article. If the search phrase field contained the text string "Back Pain AND Therapy" the results would contain all records that have the words "Back Pain" along with the word "Therapy" in the title OR abstract of that record.
HEADINGS/KEYWORDS: Using the text entered into the Search Phrase field, search for all articles that have been indexed using those Medical Subject Headings(MeSH)/Supplemental Keywords. If the search phrase field contained the text string "Back Pain AND Therapy" the results would contain all records that have been indexed with the words "Back Pain" AND "Therapy".
Choosing your STRATEGY
The example uses the following strategy to search the MANTIS Database:
"*Pain AND Therapy OR Diagnosis NOT Case Report"
Choosing the proper search strategy is very important when trying to retrieve the information you desire. Unfortunately there is not specific set of rules one can follow to obtain the exact data they wish. Usually searching takes some practice and, the more you search, the better acquainted you will become with the information available, the ways literature is indexed and the way it is organized in a database like MANTIS. Although, there are some tools present that will aid in the development of a search strategy.
The first of these tools is the "wildcard" symbol (*). This symbol is used to fill in unknown or ambiguous sections of a word. It may be placed at the beginning or end of a string of text. There is an example of this in the search strategy used above (highlighted "*Pain"). Here the search engine will include any Medical Subject Heading OR subheading ending with the text "Pain". This includes "Pain", "Low Back Pain" and "Back Pain". This symbol can be used for many different reasons. One reason would be that the person performing the search wishes to include many "similar" keywords in the same search without having to type each one out and joining each with a Boolean operator (discussed below). Another reason would include that the user is unaware of the proper spelling, tense or synonym of the heading that s/he wishes to include in the search strategy.
Note: Wildcards are not necessary with text strings searches of the title or abstract of a record and are only used when searching the database using headings and/or subheadings. If one uses a wildcard within a search strategy that includes a string search of the title and abstract, the wildcards (*) will be removed from the search for that portion of the query.
The next tool that you have at your disposal are the Boolean operators. Using these allows a search to be broadened or narrowed as desired. The following Boolean arguments may be used in your search strategy (as highlighted above):
AND: Combines terms where both terms must be present. The search fields are combined with an "AND" operator. If one enters "headache" in the search field followed by "AND manipulation, orthopedic", the search results will contain only articles indexed with both of those headings.
OR: Combines terms where any of the selected terms may be present. One can join words or phrases using the operator "OR" between words or phrases. For example, if one wants to find articles that are indexed using either low back pain or sciatica, one could type "low back pain OR sciatica".
NOT: Excludes articles indexed with that heading. For example, if one want to find articles that deal with treatment of low back pain, but not articles that are about surgical methods, one could enter the heading "low back pain-th NOT surgery" OR "low back pain AND therapy NOT surgery" in the search field.
The final tool that will be discussed is the Find Button. This button, illustrated to the right, is used to locate the proper Medical Subject Headings OR Subheadings to include in your search strategy. If you have an idea of the word you wish to use in your search but are not completely sure of its spelling or form, the find button will help you locate the proper term and insert it back into the search phrase field. This button can be found to the left of each field to which it is associated and can be used to help you select an appropriate:
Heading
Journal
(publication)
Author Name
For more information on using the Find Button, please see the MANTIS Find Button Tutorial.
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Restricting Your search to specific YEARS
The final piece of the puzzle for this step will be to restrict the years from which you wish to search. There are two pull-down menus that allow you to pick the year to begin the search AND a year to end the search. The title of this area is "Restrict Search to Years:". Once you have chosen a beginning and end year, this section will be complete and you will have to option to move to the next (optional / advanced ONLY) step in performing a search of the MANTIS Database.
NOTE: When restricting years, the beginning and end year are included in the search. For example: If you use the years 1990 AND the year 2000, the results screen will include all articles that match your search strategy and were published from January, 1990, until December of the year 2000.
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The first field you will find here is the Discipline field that allows you to restrict a search to articles published within journals of a specific discipline. Please note that, by adding a keyword like "Chiropractic" to a search strategy, you are essentially accomplishing the same task as selecting "Chiropractic" from the pull down menu under this section. There are many options here and they all correspond to the varying disciplines of literature indexed and included in the MANTIS Database.
The second field you will find is the Language field that allows you to restrict a search to specific languages in which the article was written. Please note that the MANTIS Database contains a majority of articles published in the English language and that many published in other languages have abstracts that are also in English.
The final section of the display options is where you describe the Order you wish to view your results. The following options are available
