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Search strategies and literature ‘finding’ for systematic reviews Jenny Basford, Systematic Reviews Support Librarian mEsh [email protected]

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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

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Page 1: Search strategies and literature ‘finding’ for systematic reviews Jenny Basford, Systematic Reviews Support Librarian mEsh

Search strategies and literature ‘finding’ for systematic reviews

Jenny Basford, Systematic Reviews Support Librarian

[email protected]

Page 2: Search strategies and literature ‘finding’ for systematic reviews Jenny Basford, Systematic Reviews Support Librarian mEsh

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

Page 3: Search strategies and literature ‘finding’ for systematic reviews Jenny Basford, Systematic Reviews Support Librarian mEsh

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

Page 4: Search strategies and literature ‘finding’ for systematic reviews Jenny Basford, Systematic Reviews Support Librarian mEsh

Source: Pinterest (Feb 2013)

Page 5: Search strategies and literature ‘finding’ for systematic reviews Jenny Basford, Systematic Reviews Support Librarian mEsh

Information sources• Electronic databases• ‘Handsearching’• Citation searching• Directly contacting researchers,

relevant organisations/manufacturers

Page 6: Search strategies and literature ‘finding’ for systematic reviews Jenny Basford, Systematic Reviews Support Librarian mEsh

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

Page 7: Search strategies and literature ‘finding’ for systematic reviews Jenny Basford, Systematic Reviews Support Librarian mEsh

• 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

Page 8: Search strategies and literature ‘finding’ for systematic reviews Jenny Basford, Systematic Reviews Support Librarian mEsh

• As standard, search:

–Medline– EMBASE–Cochrane Library (incl. CENTRAL,

DARE, NHS EED, CCTR)

Start with the basics… databases

Page 9: Search strategies and literature ‘finding’ for systematic reviews Jenny Basford, Systematic Reviews Support Librarian mEsh

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

Page 10: Search strategies and literature ‘finding’ for systematic reviews Jenny Basford, Systematic Reviews Support Librarian mEsh

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

Page 11: Search strategies and literature ‘finding’ for systematic reviews Jenny Basford, Systematic Reviews Support Librarian mEsh

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)

Page 12: Search strategies and literature ‘finding’ for systematic reviews Jenny Basford, Systematic Reviews Support Librarian mEsh

Date of database (as moving wall)

Number of hits

Separate column for comments/suggestions

Page 13: Search strategies and literature ‘finding’ for systematic reviews Jenny Basford, Systematic Reviews Support Librarian mEsh

Keep this: you will need to follow it throughout your review

Page 14: Search strategies and literature ‘finding’ for systematic reviews Jenny Basford, Systematic Reviews Support Librarian mEsh

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?

Page 15: Search strategies and literature ‘finding’ for systematic reviews Jenny Basford, Systematic Reviews Support Librarian mEsh

Conclusion• PICOS• Scoping search• Record, record, record!• Ask for help with database language• Be prepared to spend time on this

and be creative…

Page 16: Search strategies and literature ‘finding’ for systematic reviews Jenny Basford, Systematic Reviews Support Librarian mEsh