The research question framework elements can also be used as keywords.

Here are some ideas on what makes a good keyword:

• Think about who the population/ sample group. Are you looking for a particular age group, ethnicity, cultural background, gender, health issue etc.
• What is the intervention/issue you want to know more about? This could be a particular type of medication, education, therapeutic technique etc. 
• Do you have a particular context in mind? This could relate to a community setting, hospital, ward etc. 

Different authors naturally use different terms when writing on a topic or describing a problem, so capturing as many as possible relevant terms would mean that you haven`t missed anything out when searching the literature.

It is important to remember that databases are highly structured and will only ever search for the exact term you put in, so don't panic if you are not getting the results you hoped for. Think about alternative words that could be used for each keyword to build upon your search. 

Build your search by thinking about about synonyms, specialist language, spellings, acronyms, abbreviations for each keyword that you have.

In systematic literature reviews, both keywords and controlled vocabulary play crucial roles in retrieving relevant studies, but they differ in their approach:

Keywords

• Keywords are natural language terms chosen by the author. 
• They are flexible and allow for broad searches, capturing variations in terminology.
• However, they may lead to irrelevant results or miss studies that use different terminology.

Controlled Vocabulary

• Controlled vocabulary consists of standardised terms used in databases (e.g., MeSH in PubMed, APA Thesaurus in PsycInfo).
• These terms ensure consistent indexing and improve precision in searches.
• They require familiarity with the database’s specific vocabulary but reduce irrelevant results.

Best Practice for Systematic Reviews

• Combining both keywords and controlled vocabulary enhances search effectiveness.
• If keyword searches yield too many or too few results, controlled vocabulary can refine the search.
• Different databases use different controlled vocabularies, so search strategies must be adapted accordingly.

Your inclusion and exclusion criteria is also an important step in the literature review process. It allows you to be transparent in how you have  ended up with your final articles. 

Your inclusion/exclusion criteria is completely dependent on your chosen topic. Use your inclusion and exclusion criteria to select your articles, it is important not to cherry pick but to have a reason as to why you have selected that particular article. 

For example:

• Year- What time frame do you need?​

• Methodology- Is it qualitative or quantitative, is it a review paper? ​

• Study: What type of study is it? Is it a focus group, a survey, a clinical trial?​

• Geography- Do you need it to be UK specific? Region specific?​

• Age- Do you want all children including teenagers or school children of a certain age?​

• Language- Can you speak multiple languages; does it need to be in English only?​

• Setting- are you interested in at home/school or within a care setting?​

• Demographics- Are you interested in a specific ethnic group? ​

• Specific/ Technical- are there certain types/strains of interest to you?​

Feel free to use this template to plan your search strategy

Search Planning Template