Searching for evidence via the internet

Scientific evidences are about the results of studies that are conducted in health sciences and are used in everyday clinical practice in combination with clinical experience and patients’ values. For this reason, health scientists must rely on the results that come from reliable and valid studies. Today, articles are searched and found relatively easily and immediately via the internet, using the various databases with regards to health sciences. Finding of appropriate evidence in databases requires common sense, knowledge, experience and patience. During the time, adaptation to the databases is increased continuously and literature search becomes easier and leads to more valid results. Successful search and recovery of the appropriate articles in databases are determined to a large extent from key-words or, differently, from search terms that are used by the investigators. Substantially, the key-words are those that determine the validity of recovery of appropriate articles. Moreover, it is very important to determine with clarity the research question that is to be investigated. The most important databases via the internet with regards to health sciences are the following: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Collaboration, CINAHL, ISI Web of Knowledge, PsycINFO, Scopus, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, COS Conference Papers Index, Scirus, ClinicalTrials.gov and IATROTEK.