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Search Term Generator

Convert any research question into three ready-to-paste Boolean search strings optimized for Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science. Powered by AI with expert-designed search logic.

Tip: Be specific about your research topic, population, and outcome of interest for better results. Optionally mention the database (Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, etc.) if you have a specific platform in mind.

How It Works

Three search strategies.

Narrow Search

Highly specific search with exact phrases and all major concepts required. Best for focused literature reviews or when you want fewer, highly relevant results.

  • • Exact phrases in quotes
  • • 4–5 concept groups
  • • Only if outcomes mentioned: 3+ synonyms per outcome
  • • High precision, low recall

Balanced Search

Most commonly used. Good synonym expansion with moderate breadth. Ideal for systematic reviews and general scoping of a research area.

  • • Expanded synonyms
  • • 3–4 concept groups
  • • If outcomes mentioned: 3+ synonyms per outcome
  • • Balanced precision & recall

Broad Search

Maximum sensitivity to capture all relevant studies. Best for exploratory research or when casting a wide net to understand a topic.

  • • Many synonyms & variations
  • • 2–3 concept groups
  • • If outcomes mentioned: generous outcome variants
  • • High recall, low precision

Compatible Platforms

Where to use these strings.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar

scholar.google.com

Paste your search string into the main search box. Google Scholar supports AND, OR, NOT operators and phrase searching with quotation marks.

💡 Tip: Google Scholar's main search bar has character limits. If your string is too long, use their Advanced Search option.

Scopus

Scopus

scopus.com

Use the Advanced Search → Search Field → Select "Title, Abstract, Keywords" or paste into the main search box. Scopus is very Boolean-friendly.

💡 Tip: For best results, use the field tag TITLE-ABS-KEY(...) wrapping your search string.

Web of Science

Web of Science

webofscience.com

Go to Core Collection → Advanced Search. Use the field tag TS=(...) for topic search (title, abstract, keywords).

💡 Tip: WoS supports proximity operators like NEAR/5 for more advanced searching.

PubMed

PubMed

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Paste directly into the search box. PubMed supports Boolean operators. For best results, use the Advanced Search builder.

💡 Tip: PubMed has MeSH controlled vocabulary — consider using MeSH terms for clinical/health topics.

Examples

See it in action.

Example: Impact of cash transfer programmes on household food security in sub-Saharan Africa

Narrow

("cash transfer*" OR "unconditional cash transfer*" OR "UCT") AND ("food security" OR "dietary diversity" OR "household food consumption") AND ("sub-Saharan Africa" OR "SSA") AND (household* OR family OR home*)

Balanced

("cash transfer*" OR "income support" OR "social protect*" OR "social cash transfer*") AND ("food security" OR "nutritional status" OR "household consumpt*") AND ("Africa" OR "low-income countr*") AND (impact OR effect* OR evaluat*)

Broad

("cash*" OR "transfer*" OR "welfare*" OR "grant*") AND ("food" OR "nutrition" OR "hunger") AND ("Africa" OR "develop*") AND (household* OR family OR population*)

Example: Impact of financial literacy interventions on consumer debt behaviour and financial wellbeing

Narrow

("financial literacy" OR "financial education" OR "financial knowledge") AND ("consumer debt" OR "household debt" OR "credit behavior*") AND ("financial wellbeing" OR "financial health" OR "financial security") AND (adult* OR consumer*)

Balanced

("financial literac*" OR "financial knowledge" OR "financial capabilit*" OR "money management") AND ("debt" OR "borrow*" OR "credit behavior*") AND ("financial wellbeing" OR "financial health" OR "financial security") AND (intervention* OR program* OR training)

Broad

("financial*" OR "money" OR "credit") AND ("literacy" OR "education" OR "awareness" OR "training") AND ("debt" OR "credit" OR "loan*") AND (wellbeing OR health OR security)

Questions?

Frequently asked.

What's the difference between the three search strategies?

Narrow (4–5 concept groups) uses exact phrases and all concepts, best for highly specific topics. Balanced (3–4 concept groups) adds synonyms and uses wildcards—best for most systematic reviews. Broad (2–3 concept groups) includes many variations—best for exploratory scoping. We recommend starting with Balanced. When outcomes are mentioned, all strategies expand with 3+ synonyms per outcome.

Can I modify the search strings after generating them?

Absolutely! The strings generated are templates optimized for your research question. You can add, remove, or refine terms based on what you find in early searches. Feel free to adjust database-specific syntax and add field tags like TITLE-ABS-KEY() for Scopus.

How is the AI generating these search strings?

The tool uses a specialized AI model (Llama 3.3 70B) trained to understand academic research and Boolean search logic. It follows strict rules about operator formatting (AND/OR/NOT uppercase), phrase quoting, truncation (*), and wildcards (?) to ensure compatibility with all major academic databases.

Is this tool free? Will my research question be stored?

Yes, completely free! No account or login required. Your research questions are processed in real-time by the AI and are never stored. No tracking, no cookies, no data collection. Use it as many times as you like without cost or restrictions.

What if the search strings don't capture the right papers?

Try iterating! Generate strings multiple times, refining your question each time. Compare results from all three strategies—sometimes the Broad search catches papers the Narrow one misses. Also consider backward and forward citation searching to find related work.