Create Query in Claude to Develop a Search String

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When creating a query in Claude to help you develop a search string, Title slide: Create Query in Claude to Develop a Search String.
you first want to let it know what you are researching and the context in which you are researching it. Claude prompt with research topic and context highlighted. The text shown is: I am researching population changes in mallard ducks. My research question is how has climate change impacted mallard duck populations in the United States in the last fifty years. 
You then want to ask for where you want the search algorithm to be used, Highlighted text is: Write a search algorithm to use with Scopus.
as well as what you want Claude or the generative AI tool to do. Highlighted text is: Ask me questions about my research project to better understand my goals to help write a targeted Boolean.
In this search, I've given it a little bit of information for what I want to know, which is a targeted Boolean search to use in Scopus for my research topic. The initial prompt for Claude is displayed on the screen. The text shown is: I am researching population changes in mallard ducks. My research question is how has climate change impacted mallard duck populations in the United States in the last fifty years. Write a search algorithm to use with Scopus. Ask me questions about my research project to better understand my goals to help write a targeted Boolean.
You'll notice that instead of automatically generating me that targeted Boolean search, it begins asking me questions to refine that search.

We scroll down the screen to see the various questions Claude asks. Categories include Geographic and Temporal Scope, Population Metrics, Climate Variables, and more. Here is an example:

Geographic and Temporal Scope

  • Are you focusing on specific regions within the US (e.g., major flyways, particular states, or breeding vs. wintering grounds)?
  • Do you want to include studies from the full 50-year period (1974-2024) or focus on more recent decades?
I can then answer those questions - I don't have to answer all of them - in order to create a more refined search that helps Claude do its best to create that Boolean search strategy for Scopus. The reply to Claude's questions appears. The text shown is: I am focusing on the entire United States in the full 50-year period. I am interested in migration timing and survival rates. I am including both direct population counts and proxy measures. I am prioritizing seasonal timing shifts. I want to focus strictly on mallards. I am only interested in field studies. The search should include management and conservation response studies. This is for an undergraduate literature review. I want to synthesize existing findings.
You'll notice that it gives me two. One is a primary search string,

Primary Search String is displayed on the screen. The text shown is: 

Primary Search String

(mallard* OR "Anas platyrhynchos") AND ("United States" OR "North America" OR USA OR "continental US") AND (climat* OR "seasonal timing" OR "temperature change*" OR "phenolog*" OR "migration timing" OR "breeding timing" OR "seasonal shift*") AND ("survival rate*" OR "population count*" OR "abundance" OR "demographic*" OR "mortality" OR "breeding success" OR "reproductive success" OR "population trend*" OR "population survey*") AND ("field stud*" OR "field survey*" OR "monitoring" OR "long-term stud*" OR "longitudinal stud*" OR "census" OR "band* data" OR "mark-recapture" OR "telemetry") AND (management OR conservation OR "adaptive management" OR "harvest management" OR "waterfowl management")
which is a bit more complex than the simplified version.

Simplified version is displayed on the screen. The text shown is:

Alternative Simplified Version

(mallard* OR "Anas platyrhynchos") AND ("United States" OR USA) AND (climat* OR "seasonal timing" OR phenolog* OR "migration timing") AND ("survival rate*" OR "population count*" OR abundance OR demographic*) AND ("field stud*" OR monitoring OR "long-term stud*" OR census OR "band* data")
It also recommends some search refinements that I can use once I am inside of the database.

Search refinements are displayed. The text shown is: 

Search Refinements

  • Document Type Filters:
    • Article
    • Review
    • Conference Paper
  • Subject Area Filters:
    • Environmental Science
    • Agricultural and Biological Sciences
    • Earth and Planetary Sciences
  • Date Range: 1974-2024
It also prompts me to continue questioning it to help further refine my search strategy. Question from Claude reads: Would you like me to suggest any modifications to capture specific research methodologies or refine any particular aspect of this search strategy?
Need help? Ask a librarian at library.northeastern.edu/ask

Closing slide: Need help? Ask a librarian. library.northeastern.edu/ask

Use Search String from Claude to Search Scopus

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Once you've generated a search string that seems like it will work for you, Title slide: Use Search String from Claude to Search Scopus
you can then use it to look inside of the database to see what you find. So I'm going to try with the primary search string first. So copy it.

Primary Search String is copied using the copy button to the right of the search string. The copied text is: 

(mallard* OR "Anas platyrhynchos") AND ("United States" OR "North America" OR USA OR "continental US") AND (climat* OR "seasonal timing" OR "temperature change*" OR "phenolog*" OR "migration timing" OR "breeding timing" OR "seasonal shift*") AND ("survival rate*" OR "population count*" OR "abundance" OR "demographic*" OR "mortality" OR "breeding success" OR "reproductive success" OR "population trend*" OR "population survey*") AND ("field stud*" OR "field survey*" OR "monitoring" OR "long-term stud*" OR "longitudinal stud*" OR "census" OR "band* data" OR "mark-recapture" OR "telemetry") AND (management OR conservation OR "adaptive management" OR "harvest management" OR "waterfowl management")
I'm going into Scopus, and I'm going to search the documents based on that search string. In Scopus, the primary search string is pasted into the Documents search.
I find two results, and then I can look at the abstracts to see if these results are helpful for my research question. Two results are displayed on the page. Below the article title for each result, "Show abstract" is expanded to display the abstract and highlighted search terms.
I can also see what happens with my simplified version. So copy it there.

Returning to Claude, the page scrolls to the Alternative Simplified Version and that text is copied. The copied text is:

(mallard* OR "Anas platyrhynchos") AND ("United States" OR USA) AND (climat* OR "seasonal timing" OR phenolog* OR "migration timing") AND ("survival rate*" OR "population count*" OR abundance OR demographic*) AND ("field stud*" OR monitoring OR "long-term stud*" OR census OR "band* data")
Go back to Scopus, and then I can search it, In Scopus, the simplified search string is pasted in the Documents search box and the search is ran.
and we'll find that we get a different number of results. The one that shows is one of the same ones that was in our last results. This is because different search strategies return different results in different databases. Only one result appears. The abstract is expanded using "Show abstract."
I can also now use these queries Both Claude search strings are displayed: Primary and Alternative Simplified.
inside of other databases, perhaps using the one that returned the most helpful results for what I'm researching. Northeastern University library database list appears.
Need help? Ask a librarian at library.northeastern.edu/ask Closing Slide: Need help? Ask a Librarian library.northeastern.edu/ask