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Search strategies and literature ‘finding’ for systematic reviews
Jenny Basford, Systematic Reviews Support Librarian
The systematic review process
Formulate research / policy conclusions
Identify possible papers
from titles/abstracts
Retrieve papers
Extract data
Further selection of
primary studies using inclusion
criteria
Synthesis
Formulate
research question
Design search
strategy
Quality appraisal
Write protocol
Search bibliographi
c databases
Learning outcomes• To learn how to construct an effective
search strategy and knowledge of advanced search techniques
• To learn how to document and reproduce the information search process
• To gain practical experience of conducting a literature search
Source: Pinterest (Feb 2013)
Information sources• Electronic databases• ‘Handsearching’• Citation searching• Directly contacting researchers,
relevant organisations/manufacturers
Search strategy design• Use your structured question and the PICOS
elements to design your search strategy• Identify relevant papers you would expect to
see in a good search: are their strategies available?
• Published search filters? (InterTASC)• Choose 1-2 databases (Medline via Ovid;
Cochrane Library) to research what MeSH/thesaurus terms are generated by simple searching
• Boolean operators: simple and logical and can be used like algebraic equations
• Check for typos: get someone else to look at your strategy
• Proximity operators: look at the relevance of the hits your search generates can you alter these?
• After finalising, adapt as necessary for each database
• As standard, search:
–Medline– EMBASE–Cochrane Library (incl. CENTRAL,
DARE, NHS EED, CCTR)
Start with the basics… databases
Think laterally…• Handsearching, reference lists, citation
searching• Non-general databases: LILACS; PsycINFO; • Identify relevant charities that sponsor
research in the field• Open Access repositories: OpenDOAR;
OpenGrey; institutional repositories (e.g. QMRO)
• Trial registers• Contact authors
Caution!• Limitations of some databases (e.g.
PubMed does not do proximity operators)• Changes in database ‘language’:
wildcards, truncation, proximity operators vary
• Indexing errors (librarians are human…)• Sometimes simple is best
How to document the process
• Set up profiles on each of the databases and save your searches
• Export all your citations to your bibliographic manager, note the total and THEN de-duplicate
• Reproducibility is key (note what date you conduct the final search)
Date of database (as moving wall)
Number of hits
Separate column for comments/suggestions
Keep this: you will need to follow it throughout your review
Practical: appraising a search strategy
• In your groups, answer the questions in your workbook using the search strategy provided
• Any other typos in here?
• For extra credit: how would you improve this search?
Conclusion• PICOS• Scoping search• Record, record, record!• Ask for help with database language• Be prepared to spend time on this
and be creative…