Skip to Main Content
Monash Health Library
Journals A-Z | Renew Your Loans | New eBooks | Mind & Matter
If you have an exact title add ti= (eg. ti=Emergency Medicine)

Literature Searching GuideClick here to chat with a librarian

The Literature Searching guide shows you how to complete an effective literature search from beginning to end. Use the tabs at the top of the page to navigate through the guide. 

Remember: the Library team provides a range of research support services to Monash Health employees and students. Attend a live webinar, book a research consultation, or request a literature search and get in touch with the Library team if you have any questions.

Benefits

Saving your search within the database or search platform itself allows you to: 

  • Save your progress as you go -- developing an effective search strategy takes time.
  • Easily re-run the search to find new results at a later date.
  • Borrow from previous search strategies if you are searching again on a similar topic.

Create an account

In order to save your searches you will need to first create a free personal account for the search platform in question. E.g. a free personal Ovid account or Cochrane Library account. 

Saving a search in Ovid

  1. Log into your Ovid account.
  2. Perform a search.
  3. Select "Save All" from bottom of search history.
  4. Name your search. 
  5. Click "Save".

Tip: When naming your search, it's a good idea to include the name of the database that the search was developed for.

Re-running a saved search in Ovid

  1. Log into your Ovid account.
  2. Open "My Workspace" from the top menu bar.
  3. Click "My Searches & Alerts". 
  4. Tick the correct search and click "Run".
  5. Double-check that the correct "Resource" (database) is selected.

Other databases

See our database user guides for other database-specific guidance on how to save and re-run your searches.

You can elect to receive new results matching your search by email. See our Keeping Up To Date guide for information about setting up search alerts.

Keeping up to date guide

To set up search alerts for databases in Ovid, you will need to have a free personal Ovid account. While logged into your Ovid account, follow the steps below.

  1. Perform search or access a saved search.
  2. Check that the majority of results are relevant. Search alerts are only recommended for specific and focussed searches.
  3. Hover mouse over "More" on the right-hand side of the last line of your search.
  4. Select "Create Auto-Alert".
  5. Select the frequency and format in which you would like to receive results.

Monash Health acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land, the Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung peoples, and we pay our respects to them, their culture and their Elders past, present and future.

We are committed to creating a safe and welcoming environment that embraces all backgrounds, cultures, sexualities, genders and abilities.