Information Fluency

Primary concepts or keyterms can be identified using the PICO formula from Step 1. Each of the PICO elements can form a primary concept. If your PICO does not have a Comparison or Outcome (the outcome is broad or vague) element, it is okay to leave these concepts. 

Example:

P: adolescents with depression

I: Prozac

C: Zoloft

O: n/a

For each primary concept identified, make a list of other terms with the same or related meaning (synonyms). It is important to gather synonyms, because

• Terms have different spellings, plural forms, acronyms, full form of acronyms 

• Concepts are described inconsistently across time, geographies or even among researchers

• Terms have same/close meaning, disciplinary jargon

• Umbrella terms vs specific names

These terms will form the textwords of your search strategy. 

Example:

Tips for finding synonyms:

• use a thesaurus
• think of specific examples or types
• use background information to help brainstorm (e.g. encyclopedia, Wikipedia)
• mine relevant articles for keywords and subject headings 
• use "Used For" terms in MeSH (see Step 3)