Starting your search in the Thesaurus for official subject terms can help you quickly focus your search. It's also a way to learn more about the terms used (e.g. scope note, history) or find other terms you may find helpful (e.g. broader, narrower, related terms). Below is an example of how you might search on the topic of genetic contributions to separation anxiety in children.
Step 1: Start your search for scholarly articles in an article database such as PsycINFO.
Step 2: Browse for a term from your topic in the Thesaurus.
Step 3: Check the box of the most relevant term and add it to your search or click on the term for more information. Search again and add more terms if needed.
Step 4: After you've added the terms, click Search.
Step 5: Add any other relevant terms to your search (e.g. gene or genetic) and search again.
Step 6: Check the box for Peer Reviewed on the left under Refine Results and change the date to the last five years.
Step 7: Use the other limiters like Age (e.g childhood) or Methodology (e.g. empirical study) to further narrow your results as needed.
Step 8: Click the title of the article to skim the abstract and save/email/print articles you find helpful. Or create a personal account in the database and add article to a folder to save for later use.
Then search again using new subject terms or keywords you've found.