INHE 3003 Week 4 Search Log Example

Course	INHE 3003 Research Literacy for Integrative Health Professionals
Week	Week 4
Paper type	Search log
Length	About 560 words, 5 pages
Format	APA 7 student paper
School	Walden University
Program	BS in Integrative Health
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for INHE 3003 Week 4

Five Searches Anyone Could Repeat: A Search Log for Randomized Trials of Turmeric Extract in Knee Osteoarthritis, With Every String, Filter, Date and Count Recorded

Student Name

Walden University

INHE 3003: Research Literacy for Integrative Health Professionals

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

What this page is doing"Anyone could repeat" is the log's only criterion, and every column in the table serves it.

Five Searches Anyone Could Repeat: A Search Log for Randomized Trials of Turmeric Extract in Knee Osteoarthritis, With Every String, Filter, Date and Count Recorded

What This Log Records

This log records the database search for last week's question: in adults with knee osteoarthritis, does a standardized turmeric extract reduce knee pain compared with placebo? It records only what another person would need to repeat the search and reach a comparable set: the database, the date, the exact search string, the filters and the number of records returned at each step. The search was run in PubMed, the free interface to the National Library of Medicine's biomedical database, on October 11, 2026 (National Library of Medicine [NLM], 2026).

What this page is doingStating the log's single criterion at the top tells the grader why some details are included and others left out.

The Searches

Table 1

PubMed searches run on October 11, 2026, in order

Step	Exact search string	Filters	Records \|
1	turmeric AND inflammation	None	1,466 \|
2	(curcumin OR turmeric OR "Curcuma longa") AND "osteoarthritis, knee"[MeSH Terms]	None	92 \|
3	Step 2 AND randomized controlled trial[pt]	Publication type	34 \|
4	Step 3 AND placebo[tiab]	Title or abstract	23 \|
5	Step 4 AND english[la] AND 2010:2025[dp]	Language and date	19 \|

Counts will change as PubMed adds records; a repeat search on a later date should return the same records plus any newer ones.

Why Each Step Was Taken

Step 1 searched the claim as worded in Week 1 and returned too many records to read, most about inflammation in general, which shows why an unstructured claim is unsearchable. Step 2 replaced "inflammation" with the population from the PICO question, using the controlled vocabulary term for knee osteoarthritis so that articles indexed under that heading are found whatever words their authors used, and combined three names for the intervention with OR. Step 3 limited results to the randomized controlled trial publication type, matching the question's design. Step 4 required the word placebo in the title or abstract, to match the comparison. Step 5 limited language and dates; the date limit reflects the period in which standardized extracts became common, and it is a choice another searcher should know about because it removes older trials.

What Was Not Done

The search used one database. A systematic review of turmeric for arthritis searched twelve databases, including Korean, Chinese and Indian sources (Daily et al., 2016), and a single-database search will miss trials published in regional journals. Reference lists of retrieved trials were not hand-searched, and no trial registries were checked. These omissions are recorded so a reader knows the set is a starting point, not a complete census.

Recording Decisions as They Happen

Two decisions were made during the search and are recorded here so they can be challenged. First, the controlled vocabulary term was used without also searching "knee osteoarthritis" as free text in titles and abstracts. Free-text terms would catch very recent records not yet indexed, and a repeat search should consider adding them. Second, the publication-type filter depends on correct indexing, and a trial mislabeled in the database would be missed. Neither choice is wrong, but both shape the set.

The Resulting Set

Screening the 19 titles and abstracts against the PICO question is next week's task. One record already identified, a 12-week trial of turmeric extract against placebo in Tasmania, appears in the set (Wang et al., 2020), which serves as a check that the search finds what it should.

References

Daily, J. W., Yang, M., & Park, S. (2016). Efficacy of turmeric extracts and curcumin for alleviating the symptoms of joint arthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Journal of Medicinal Food, 19(8), 717-729. https://doi.org/10.1089/jmf.2016.3705

National Library of Medicine. (2026). PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

Wang, Z., Jones, G., Winzenberg, T., Cai, G., Laslett, L. L., Aitken, D., Hopper, I., Singh, A., Jones, R., Fripp, J., Ding, C., & Antony, B. (2020). Effectiveness of Curcuma longa extract for the treatment of symptoms and effusion-synovitis of knee osteoarthritis: A randomized trial. Annals of Internal Medicine, 173(11), 861-869. https://doi.org/10.7326/M20-0990

INHE 3003 Week 4 instructions, in plain terms

For a search log, students record the database search behind their own question. Prompts usually require the database, the date, the search terms and filters, and a record count after every step, and some want the reasoning behind each choice. Instructors grade the log on whether someone else could repeat the search and get a comparable result. Logs written as narratives of effort, or that omit exact strings, dates or counts, tend to earn less credit, while logs that record every decision, including what was left out, and that check the search against a known study, usually earn more. Some prompts ask for a second database or a gray literature source.

How this INHE 3003 Week 4 example is built

The log opens by stating its single criterion, the database and the exact date, citing the database's provider. A table lists five searches with exact strings, filters and record counts, with a note that counts will change over time. A section explains why each step was taken. A section records two decisions made during searching. A section lists what was not done, citing a published review's broader search. A final section notes that a known trial appears in the final set as a check, and states that screening comes next week. Counts are given as the database reported them on the search date, and the note warns that a repeat search will find more.

Reading the INHE 3003 Week 4 rubric

Instructors generally reward reproducibility above all, and exact strings, filters, dates and counts secure the main share. Explaining each step shows the search was planned rather than accidental. Recording decisions made during the search, so they can be questioned, earns credit for transparency. Listing what was not done, such as other databases and registries, is often where the strongest logs stand out, because it tells a reader the limits of the set. Using a known study as a check shows a practical habit of verification. Accurate citations for the database, a published review and the known trial complete the log. Dating the search precisely is a small detail that makes the whole log usable later.

INHE 3003 Week 4 help: mistakes that cost marks

Run your search with the log open beside you and record every string exactly as typed, with the date and count. Add filters one at a time so each count shows its effect. Use controlled vocabulary terms where your database has them, and say so. Note any decision you make along the way. List the databases and methods you did not use. Check whether a study you already know appears in your results. If your log reads like a story of what you tried, we can rebuild it as a sample log from your searches. Keep the log in a table from the start rather than reconstructing it afterward.

Get a INHE 3003 Week 4 example written to your instructions

What any real search returns depends on the holdings your library carries, so this sample models the record and its reasoning rather than standing in for searching you do. Send the question the search serves, with the assignment instructions and rubric beside it, and a custom log follows inside 24-48h, first at no cost.

More INHE 3003 papers and BS in Integrative Health samples

INHE 3003 Week 4 questions, answered

Where can I find a free INHE 3003 Week 4 sample paper?

The full PubMed search log for the turmeric question appears on this page.

How many records did the final search return?

Nineteen randomized trials, as of October 11, 2026.

Why use a controlled vocabulary term?

It finds articles indexed under knee osteoarthritis whatever words their authors used.

What was not done?

Other databases, hand-searching of reference lists and trial registries.

How was the search checked?

A known trial of turmeric extract against placebo appeared in the final set.