Evidence-based nursing practice requires the use of effective search strategies to locate relevant resources to guide practice change. Continuing education and staff development professionals can assist nurses to conduct effective literature searches. This article provides suggestions for strategies to aid in identifying search terms. Strategies also are recommended for refining searches by using controlled vocabulary, truncation, Boolean operators, PICOT (Population/Patient Problem, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Time) searching, and search limits. Suggestions for methods of managing resources also are identified. Using these approaches will assist in more effective literature searches and may help evidence-based practice decisions.
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