29 Alternate Terms

To perform a thorough keyword search, you have to include most of the words or phrases an author might use to indicate that he/she is talking about each of your search concepts.

• You’ve already outlined the important concepts in this search.
• Take a few seconds to try to think of one or two alternate terms an author might use to indicate that he/she is talking about the concepts of capsaicin or peripheral neuropathy.

Did you come up with any alternate terms? It’s often hard to think of synonyms. That’s why it’s important to consult sources that can help like:

• • MeSH database – definitions, entry terms, and narrower terms (for all types of concepts)
  • Martindale’s — the Complete Drug Reference (via LexiComp)  – English and foreign generic names, investigational names, scientific names, CAS registry number/s, and U.S. and foreign trade names (for drug concepts)
  • A Google  search for synonyms and related terms (for non-drug concepts)
  • Relevant articles, book chapters, etc. (for non-drug concepts)
  • Thesauri (for concepts that are not dependent on medical/scientific terminology, concepts like “satisfaction”)

The tutorial will guide you through the process of using the MeSH database to find alternate terms for your two search concepts. 

It’s important that you understand that you’ll now be using the MeSH database to find new keywords — you should not add terms with [mesh] tags to this search. (Do not use the “Add to Search builder” button while constructing this search).