1. Module Four Search Tools
In this module we will discuss some of the search tools that you may find useful when searching for research evidence. We have developed some handouts that will help you navigate these tools. We will also discuss the development of search terms, including MOLES or Methodology Orienting Locators for Evidence Search.

2. Electronic Search Engines
Free versus pay
Overlap
Organization: field, topic, type of evidence
Start with meta-analyses and reviews and move to individual studies only if necessary
We have provided you with three helpful web resource handouts called: 1) “EBP Tools Summary”, 2) “EBP Web Resources”, and 3) “Clinical Utility Guide”. The handout we will refer to most often is the EBP Tools Summary. It is is the handout that has the pyramid on the front. In this handout you will find information about many different online database sources that can be used to search for research evidence. The other handouts provide other websites related to EBP, including a listing of those sites contain information that may be of the greatest clinical utility.
Because there are so many different online resources available, we have tried to provide some information about sources that may be most helpful to you depending on your resources and question of interest. For example, not all online resources are free of charge. Some websites require that you pay a fee or belong to an organization, such as a university, that has a membership to access the database.
Also, databases vary in terms of the type of research evidence they provide. For example, some databases like the Cochrane and Campbell reviews include certain types of research evidence: systematic review and controlled trials. Other website search engines may be organized by topic. For example ERIC is dedicated to educational research. Moreover, different databases may include the same study. The list is not meant to be exhaustive, nor do we suggest you use ALL of the resources listed here. However, it would be helpful at this stage in the training for you to explore some of the listed websites and begin to get a sense of those that might be most useful to you.
We would like to share one last tip before we move on; because of the amount of time that can be saved by using meta-analyses and systematic reviews rather than individual studies, we recommend that any new search for evidence begin at the top of the pyramid presented in the EBP Tools Summary and move downward toward individual studies.

3. Unique language of research evidence Unique language of clinical work
Using Search Terms
Unique language of research evidence
Unique language of clinical work
You want to capture both!!
By now you should have chosen a question that you are interested in answering and transformed it into a COPES question using the handouts provided in module 2. You’ll want to have your question handy for the remainder of this module.
Both research and clinical work use unique professional language to describe their activities. You may be more familiar with clinical terms such as: assessment, treatment, outcomes, and diagnosis. Research language may be less familiar to you, but it is important that you think carefully about both types of language before you begin your research evidence search. Ideally you will be able to harness both types of language in order to seek out the best available evidence to answer your question.
We are about to brainstorm search terms related to your question of interest and use the “Search Plan” and “Search Plan Worksheet Example” handouts. If you haven’t already, you’ll need to determine what type of COPES question you have chosen. If you are unsure, think about the following questions. If you answer yes, then that is the type of question that you are asking:
Effectiveness: Do you want to understand the relative success of a particular intervention for a specific client group with a particular problem?
2. Prevention: Do you want to prevent an unwanted outcome?
3. Assessment: Do you want to screen for or identify important client characteristics, whether strengths or risks. You may want to track client progress.
4. Description: Do you want to know about client needs or satisfaction?
5. Risk: Do you want to know the likelihood that a client might experience a particular outcome given his or her characteristics?
If you are unsure, go back to the worksheet called “Five Question Types and Features”, the “COPES Example Worksheet”, or refer to the following website by Gibbs: under the COPES questions menu.

4. Search Term Examples
Client type/problem: adolescents, families, depression, attachment, family violence
Actions: assertive case management, peer support, assessment instrument
Once you have your COPES question written out and you know what type of question you are asking, you are ready to brainstorm your search terms. Using the “Search Plan” and the “Search Plan Example” handouts, start to brainstorm different terms that might be used to capture the question that you are trying to ask.
The first box you want to fill in are terms related to client type and problem. The question used in the example handout is an effectiveness question. The first step is to identify the key terms. In this case the key terms are: Immigrant, Couples, Difficult attachments, and History. Next the task is to identify synonyms for each of these terms. Feel free to brainstorm here, there are no wrong answers! The next step is to identify the terms related to the action and the alternative action you are trying to make a decision about. In the example the question is about which approach is more effective: individual or couples’ counseling. If your question is about assessment the decision may be about choosing one type of instrument versus another, or one type of instrument versus clinical judgment.
If you haven’t written out your question clearly, this step will be difficult if not impossible. You are being forced to think specifically about a choice you are trying to make. Most often practitioners want to know if what they are currently doing is more, less, or equally as effective than an alternative. Likewise, you may want to assess the population you are trying to serve in order to gauge risk. For example, you may currently target your counseling services to young unwed mothers because you feel they are at high risk for depression. However, not all unwed mothers are equally likely to become depressed. This is a risk question and it will help you direct your scarce resources to the population that is most in need. You may want to know whether clinical judgment (what you are currently using) or a brief instrument (the alternative) is more likely to accurately predict which mothers may become depressed.
Go ahead and fill in your search terms on your blank worksheet.
The structure is the same no matter which of the 5 question types you have chosen. You must choose between one course of action and an alternative choice of action. If you are still struggling, you may need to take another look at your question and make sure that it is in the COPES format by looking at examples from module 2 or referring to the website by Gibbs:

5. More Search Term Examples
Goals/Outcomes: School retention, marital satisfaction, employment, mental health, anxiety reduction
Moles
Once you have brainstormed search terms for the client type and problem as well as the actions, it is time to brainstorm words related to your goals or outcomes. Are you trying to increase educational attainment? Reduce teen pregnancy? Accurately assess depression? Predict which clients will drop out of your program? You may have multiple outcomes, which is okay. However, for each of the outcomes you are interested in, you will have to think of search terms as well. Go ahead and brainstorm the terms related to your outcomes or goals of interest.
The next step is to use MOLES.

6. M: Methodology O: Orienting L: Locators for E: Evidence S: Search
Moles
M: Methodology
O: Orienting
L: Locators
for
E: Evidence
S: Search
MOLES stands for Methodology Orienting Locators for Evidence Search. These are handy search terms related to the type of question that you have chosen. All of your good brainstorming so far has been aimed at the language describing the clinical aspects of your question: population, problem, courses of action, and outcomes or goals. Now we are going to think about the language related to the research.
With the MOLES you don’t have to brainstorm at all. Someone has already done this for you. In the next module we will take a look at what MOLES are exactly and how to use them in a hands-on search.