8 © 2020 American Dental Association Introduction To find answers to clinical inquiries, it is necessary to conduct an evidence-based literature search. This chapter describes the most commonly used evidence-based resources, recommends search strategies that will help enable the oral health practitioner to retrieve the most useful clinical information, and suggests a workflow for navigating evidence-based information. The practice of evidence-based dentistry includes articulating a clinical question, conducting a search for relevant literature, evaluating the retrieved evidence, applying that evidence to answer the clinical question at hand, and putting that answer into effect in a clinical setting. The amount of health-related information available via the internet is staggering. Even just the published results of clinical trials and systematic reviews are impossible to keep up with. It is estimated, for example, that an average of 11 systematic reviews and 75 results of clinical trials are published in the medical literature daily.1 In addition, health information found within the peer-reviewed literature can be contradictory. The exponential growth of complex health information is why it is essential to learn not only how to search for the best evidence-based literature, but also how to evaluate that literature. Effective searching of medical databases is a very valuable skill these days. Below, we outline effective and efficient ways for busy clinicians to search the most important medical resources. For more complex searches and the development of expert searching skills, such as conducting systematic reviews, we recommend working with a librarian who has been trained in extensive searching of the scientific literature. General Tips for Searching Electronic Resources A general search tip is to keep things simple when first starting a search. Begin with a broad search and use only a few terms without applying any search filters take a look at the results to determine if the search is too broad or too narrow and whether it’s displaying relevant results. Try using nouns as search terms rather than adjectives, as adjectives are difficult to quantify and can muddy the results. Beginning a search with too many terms or multiple filters applied may result in the inadvertent exclusion of relevant literature (Figure 2.1). Figure 2.1: General Search Tips for Electronic Resources Search Tips Begin with a broad, simple search. Use nouns as search terms avoid adjectives. Add additional terms using Boolean searching to narrow results. If you have too many results, consider using search filters to limit results according to study design type, age, publication date, language, and so on. If you are not getting the results you expect, use synonyms and variations in spelling for original search terms.