How can I narrow my research to studies in the United States?
Answer
Research is a global enterprise and studies may be conducted by author teams spanning across countries or conducting research in a variety of locations. Unfortunately, there isn't a quick fix to entirely limit all of your search results to research conducted in the United States. However, here are some strategies which can help narrow it down:
- Add in "United States" as a keyword to your search. This won't capture everything as the United States can often be an unspoken or assumed location but it can help if you're overwhelmed with results.
- Scan the titles and abstracts to pick out any studies in other countries. Often studies conducted in other countries will note the location
in the title, abstract, or methodology of the journal article - If you're in a specialized database, see if you have any options in the advanced search fields. For example, CINAHL, used for nursing research, has a "Location of Practice" option in the advanced search menu.
Research is a process and it may take several searches and skimming your results to find exactly what you're looking for.