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Planning
Objectives
- Develop comprehensive search that identifies all relevant articles on a topic
- Expect to screen hundreds, often thousands of articles
Preparation
- Search for systematic reviews that have already been published
- Make sure paper has not been published recently
- If paper exists, can provide examples of search strategies for your topic
- Look for key papers on your topic and check how they have been indexed
Databases - search following 3 at a minimum
- PubMED / Ovid MEDLINE
- Embase
- Cochrane CENTRAL (Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials)
Additional databases depending on subject and comprehensiveness
- BIOSIS
- CINAHL
- LILACS
- PsycINFO
- Scopus
- Web of Science
Search Checklist
Key components in constructing a search strategy
- Search all concepts
- Use MeSH (medical subject headings), Emtree (Embase subject headings), and other database specific vocabulary
- Use explosion and subheadings
- Use words/phrases in the title/abstract
- Use synonyms, singular/plural variations, British/American spellings
- Use truncation/wild cards
- Use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT)
- Use adjacency/proximity word searches
Limiters to consider
- Languages
- Time period
- Study types or publication types
Validate / test your search strategy
- Run test search
- Make sure search strategy picked up the key articles you identified in the preparation phase
- Check spelling and punctuation
Document search results and strategies
- Record search strategy for each database including years of coverage, date searched, and number of results