Begin by breaking your research question into your main concepts (keywords).
Here's an example research question:
What is the association between alcohol consumption and colorectal cancer risk in adults?
There are three main concepts in this question: alcohol consumption, colorectal cancer, and adults.
We recommend generating lists of synonyms, broader, and narrower terms for each keyword and setting them up in a table like the one below.
You'll also want to look up the MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) terms for your main concepts in PubMed. MeSH headings are the official terms used by PubMed to describe the content of articles. Think of them as tags that will improve your chances of finding relevant articles because they search for synonyms and other related terms. For example, a MeSH search for "adolescent" will also bring up articles where this group of people is referred to as "teenagers," "teens," "young adults," etc.
| Alcohol consumption | Colorectal cancer | Adults |
| Drinking alcohol | Colon cancer | Adult |
| Alcoholism | Rectal cancer | Older adults |
| Consuming alcohol | Bowel cancer | Middle-aged |
| "Alcohol Drinking"[Mesh] | "Colorectal Neoplasms"[Mesh] | "Adult"[Mesh] |
Check out the short video below to learn how to search PubMed for MeSH terms.