Searching the Evidence: A Tool for Practitioners
STEP 2 – SEARCHING THE EVIDENCE
Searching the Evidence: A Tool for Practitioners
(Updated March 5th, 2010)
1. Determine the Question Type
Intervention (or Treatment, Prevention, Therapy)
Harm (or Causation, Etiology)
Prognosis
Diagnosis (or Assessment)
Economics (Cost-efficiency, Cost-effectiveness, and Cost-benefit studies)
Meaning (Qualitative Research)
Organizational Behaviour (Qualitative)
Theory
Obtaining statistics from data sources (Community Needs Assessment)
( Note: this is probably not a literature search. Consult with your manager/supervisor to identify relevant websites and data
sources
2. Develop a Searchable Question
Briefly describe the public health scenario leading to the searchable question (Tell it as a story):
Identify terms to fit into your PICO Question
|P – Population/Problem | |
| | |
|I – Intervention or Exposure | |
| | |
|C – Comparison/Control | |
| | |
|O – Outcome of Interest | |
| | |
PICO Question:
Searching the Hierarchy of Evidence
What level(s) of evidence will you search?
Note: You can choose more than one level of evidence for each search.
Systems (No systems exist for public health.)
Summaries
Synopses of Syntheses
Syntheses
[pic](Consult your Manager if you are unable to retrieve citations from the above sources and to determine if a search for single studies is appropriate to your question.)
Synopses of Single
Studies
Single Studies
Searching the Grey Literature
Consult with Manager/Supervisor & Librarian:
• Is searching the grey literature appropriate to your research question? Will the grey literature add value above and beyond the evidence available from the hierarchy above?
Sources of Grey Literature (Examples)
National and provincial policies
Ministry of Health directives and guidelines
Documents from reputable websites which outline strong research methods (e.g. World Health Organization and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence)
Guidelines from provincial advisory committees (e.g., NACI - National Advisory Committee on Immunization)
Industry technical reports, papers and guidelines from international sources
Product Monographs
Does the grey literature conflict with the peer-reviewed research?
If yes, [pic] Consult with Manager/Supervisor & Librarian to determine how to proceed.
Searching Practice Reviews
[pic]Consult with Manager/Supervisor & Librarian:
• Is searching practice reviews appropriate to your research question? Will practice reviews add value above and beyond the hierarchy of evidence and/or the grey literature?
Board of Health and Best Practice Reports
Reports from other health departments (e.g., available on website)
Reports from non-governmental, charitable or advocacy organizations (e.g., Heart and Stroke Foundation)
Other:
Searching Information from Key Informants/Field Experts
[pic]Consult with Manager/Supervisor & Librarian:
• Is searching information from key informants appropriate to your research question? Will information from key informants/field experts add value above and beyond the hierarchy of evidence and/or the grey literature?
Expert opinions and communication with key experts
Handouts and/or proceedings from conferences
Personal information from stakeholders in the field (e.g., phone conversation regarding a program or strategy)
Unpublished information or documents not widely shared by a health unit or organization
Other:
3. Document the Search Strategy
Name:
Date(s) of Search:
Database Search Strategy Worksheet
What is the PICO Question? (Copy from page 1 (step 2) of tool)
Step 1: List Your Search Terms/Identify MeSH headings
| |Population |Intervention or |Comparisons |Outcomes |
| | |Exposure | | |
|Your terms | | | | |
|(pull key words from pg.1 | | | | |
|PICO table) | | | | |
| | | | | |
|MeSH headings Consult the | | | | |
|thesaurus of each specific | | | | |
|database for specific terms| | | | |
|used by specific databases | | | | |
|(e.g., in MEDLINE these | | | | |
|terms are MeSH headings, | | | | |
|other databases use other | | | | |
|terms) | | | | |
Source: Health-evidence.ca. (2009, November 25). Developing an Efficient Search Strategy. Retrieved 02/20/10 .
Step 2: List the Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria for the Search
• Identifying the inclusion and exclusion criteria for your search will help to refine your search and retrieve the most relevant articles; the limits you are able to place on your search will differ depending on the database used. (The list below is not exhaustive.)
|Inclusion Criteria |Exclusion Criteria |
| Language: | Language: |
|Country/Location: |Country/Location: |
|Publication Date: |Publication Date: |
|from: to: |from: to: |
|Age group: |Age group: |
|Cultural group: |Cultural group: |
|Publication type: |Publication type: |
|Study type: |Study type: |
|Review articles: |Review articles |
|Other: |Other: |
Step 3: Follow the Hierarchy of Evidence & Identify the Appropriate Databases for your Search
|Evidence Hierarchy |Identify Sources/Databases Searched |
| | |
|i) Summaries |Are summaries available? |
| |Yes No |
| | |
| |Source(s): |
| | |
|ii) Synopses of Syntheses |Are synopses of syntheses available? |
| |Yes No |
| | |
| |Source(s): |
| |Healthevidence.ca |
| |Other: (e.g., TRIP Database): |
| | |
|iii) Syntheses |Are syntheses available? |
| |Yes No |
| | |
| |Source(s): |
| |MEDLINE/PubMed |
| |The Cochrane Library (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews) |
| |Other: |
| | |
| |Note: The preferred Medline interface is Ovid. Medline (Ovid) and The Cochrane Library should|
| |be your two primary databases for searching systematic reviews. If relevant systematic |
| |reviews are not retrieved through these two databases initially, you may consider searching |
| |in: |
| | |
| |Other bibliographic databases (e.g, CINAHL and PyscINFO) |
| | |
| |Discipline Specific Websites (e.g., TOXNET & National Collaborating Centre for Environmental |
| |Health) |
| |[pic]( Consult with Library: if searching for literature in a sector or discipline specific |
| |website that you are unfamiliar with |
| |Note: As you move from bibliographic databases to discipline specific websites, the time |
| |spent searching increases, and the likelihood of finding quality studies decreases. |
| |
|[pic]Consult with your Manager/Supervisor & Librarian if unable to retrieve citations from the above sources to determine if a |
|search for single studies is appropriate to your question. |
| | |
|iv) Synopses of Single Studies |Are synopses of single studies available? |
| |Yes No |
| | |
| |Source(s): |
| | |
|v) Single Studies |Are single studies available? |
| |Yes No |
| | |
| |Source(s): |
| | |
|vi) Other: |Is relevant and value-added evidence available from these sources? |
|Grey Literature, Practice Reviews & |Yes No |
|Information from Key Informants/Field | |
|Experts |Source(s): |
| | |
Step 4: Citations Retrieved – Assessing the Pool of Potential Evidence
How many citations were retrieved?
Consider the number of articles retrieved in your search. A large number retrieved may require you to refine the search strategy further (e.g., place further limits on the search). A small number of articles retrieved may require expanding your search strategy.
Depending on your topic, the number of studies required to answer your PICO will differ, and will also depend on the types of studies retrieved. For example, a search that retrieves three relevant systematic reviews of strong methodology may be adequate for your topic at hand.
Can you proceed to the critical appraisal stage with the pool of citations the search strategy has generated?
Yes – Complete the “Overview of Search Process” [insert link here] (pg. 24 of glossary)
No - too many citations
• Action: (a) reduce keywords, (b) put more limits on the inclusion/exclusion criteria and/or (c) limit to particular databases
No - too few citations
• Action: (a) expand keywords, (b) remove some of the limits on inclusion/exclusion criteria, (c) search additional databases
Step 5: Saving your Search
Have you imported your references into Refworks?
Yes
No
Have you saved your search?
Yes - Where is it saved? (location/filename)?
No
Note: You can alternatively cut and paste the search details in the textbox below (see details on saving your search on pages 22-23 in glossary):
Searching the Evidence Tool
Glossary
Determining Question Type
|Question Type |Definition |Example |
|Intervention, Prevention, |Determining the effect of different |Can a multi-component obesity prevention program in a |
|Therapy |interventions on improving patient function or |secondary school increase adolescent physical activity? |
| |avoiding adverse events. | |
| |Ascertaining the effects of potentially harmful|Are there any long-term adverse reactions associated with |
|Harm (or Causation, |agents on patient function, morbidity, and |immunizations for meningococcal disease in young adults? |
|Etiology) |mortality | |
|Prognosis |Estimating the future course of patient’s |What are the health effects in young children due to chronic |
| |disease or condition |consumption of private well water containing excessive lead |
| | |concentrations? |
|Diagnosis (or Assessment) | Establishing the power of a diagnostic tool to|Are there demographic and psychosocial risk factors that can |
| |differentiate between persons with and persons |be used to develop a predictive index for HPV infection in |
| |without a target condition or disease |females under 20 years of age? |
|Economic Evaluation |Studying the economic efficiency of health care|Is social marketing for community prevention strategies for |
| |programs or interventions |West Nile Virus cost effective in rural communities? |
|Meaning |Describing, exploring, and explaining phenomena|What are adolescent experiences of seeking peer-counselling |
| |being studied (focus on process rather than |for sexual health matters in secondary schools? |
| |outcome) | |
|Organizational Behaviour |Exploring and explaining the factors and |Does building sustained relationships with academic partners |
| |outcomes of an organizational change, |increase research utilization by a health services |
| |initiative or process. For example, questions |organization? |
| |regarding knowledge exchange within an | |
| |organization, staff professional development, | |
| |etc. | |
|Theory |Describing and exploring the theories for a |What are the theoretical underpinnings for ideal growth and |
| |particular topic area in order to guide |development from 0-12 months? |
| |decision making. | |
(Source: DiCenso, A.., Guyatt, R., Ciliska, D. Evidence-Based Nursing: A Guide to Clinical Practice; Ciliska, D, Thomas, H., Buffett, C., A Compendium of Critical Appraisal Tools for Public Health Practice. National Collaborating Centre for Research Methods and Tools, Feb 2008)
Developing a Searchable Question
PICO = an acronym used to develop a searchable research question
|P – Population/Problem |Describe the group that is relevant to your research question. |
| | |
| |Examples: Adolescents, Youth, Children, Adults |
|I – Intervention or Exposure |Identify the intervention or exposure. |
| | |
| |Public health interventions can include such activities as educational |
| |programs, policy, media campaigns, counselling. The exposed group is often used|
| |to connote members who have been exposed to a supposed cause of a disease or |
| |health state of interest or possess a characteristic that is a determinant of |
| |the health outcome of interest. |
| |Example: high exposure to environmental tobacco smoke is known to cause cancer.|
|C – Comparison/Control |Identify the comparison/control intervention or group. |
| | |
| |This can be a standard therapy, though it may also be no intervention, a |
| |placebo or an alternative treatment, exposure or diagnostic test |
|O – Outcome of Interest |Identify the outcome that is relevant to your population or problem. |
| | |
| |The outcome is the thing that is being measured, and it is not phrased using |
| |directional language. |
| |Examples: “months of breastfeeding” or “rates of immunization” (not “more/less |
| |months of breastfeeding” or “higher/lower rates of immunization”) |
Example: (Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention)
You are interested in identifying school-based interventions which improve eating behaviours and decrease body-mass index (BMI) among secondary school students. You decide to focus on increased fruit and vegetable consumption as the key indicator for improved eating behaviours.
The following PICO question can be developed for the above scenario:
|P – Population/Problem | Secondary school students |
|I – Intervention or Exposure |School-based healthy eating programs |
|C – Comparison/Control |Schools that only have standard health education programs |
|O – Outcome of Interest |Fruit and vegetable consumption and body-mass-index (BMI) of students |
PICO Question: Do secondary school students who are exposed to school-based healthy eating programs have higher fruit and vegetable consumption and lower BMIs as compared to students in schools that only have standard health education programs?
Example: (Communicable Disease Division)
You are interested in knowing if newer electronic technologies (e.g., internet, facebook, cell phones, texting, and email) offer any advantages over traditional methods to complete contact notification for case management of STIs.
The following PICO question can be developed for the above scenario:
|P – Population/Problem |Contacts of clients diagnosed with reportable sexually transmitted infections |
|I – Intervention or Exposure |Using technological techniques of informing contacts (internet, facebook, cell |
| |phones, texting, email, etc) |
|C – Comparison/Control |Traditional methods of letters and/or phone calls. |
|O – Outcome of Interest |Efficiency and effectiveness of technological strategies to inform contacts. |
PICO Question: Are contacts of clients diagnosed with an STI informed more efficiently and effectively using internet/facebook/email/etc as compared to contacts of clients who are informed via traditional methods (i.e., letters and phone calls)?
Example: (Environmental)
A parent is concerned about the potential health impacts of children exposed to chemicals that are present in crumb rubber used in indoor artificial turf. Parents smell a chemical whenever the children are using the facility for soccer, primarily during late fall and winter months.
The following PICO question can be developed for the above scenario:
|P – Population/Problem | Children |
|I – Intervention or Exposure |Exposure to chemical in crumb rubber from indoor turfs used once a week for |
| |approximately 2 hours each time (oral, dermal and inhalation) |
|C – Comparison/Control | |
|O – Outcome of Interest |Health risks associated with exposure to these chemicals |
PICO Question: What are the health risks to children associated with oral, dermal and inhalation exposure to chemicals present in crumb rubber used in indoor turfs/fields?
Example: (Epidemiology)
You are interested in identifying pre-natal risk factors associated with low birth weight babies and still births.
The following PICO question can be developed for the above scenario:
|P – Population/Problem | Pregnant women |
|I – Intervention or Exposure |Prenatal exposure to risk factors |
|C – Comparison/Control |No prenatal exposure to risk factors |
|O – Outcome of Interest |Number, incidence, prevalence of low birth weight babies and/or still births |
PICO Question: What prenatal exposures are associated with low birth weight babies and/or stillbirths among pregnant women?
Example: (Family Health)
You are interested in developing a campaign to increase awareness among the Peel population regarding the benefits of breastfeeding. You would like to search the literature to identify the associations between exclusive breastfeeding prior to six months of age, and cognitive development.
The following PICO question can be developed for the above scenario:
|P – Population/Problem | Healthy full term infants less than 6 months of age, living in developed |
| |countries |
|I – Intervention or Exposure |Exclusive breastfeeding or provision of breast milk only (no other artificial |
| |milk substitutes) |
|C – Comparison/Control |Healthy full term infants less than 6 months of age, living in developed |
| |countries, who are given both breast milk and formula |
|O – Outcome of Interest |Cognitive development, social intelligence, learning potential, short term |
| |intelligence (childhood) and long term intelligence (adult) |
PICO Question: Is exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months of age among healthy full term infants in developed countries associated with improved cognitive development, social intelligence, learning potential and short and long term intelligence as compared to the provision of both breast milk and formula among infants of the same description?
Example: (Office of the MOH)
In an attempt to define the concept of culturally competent public health services, we are interested in identifying the effectiveness of providing public health programs ensuring culturally appropriate language services for multicultural communities vs. public health programs delivered in the mainstream language only (i.e. English).
The following PICO question can be developed for the above scenario:
|P – Population/Problem | Ethno-culturally diverse populations (eg. Recent and established immigrants, |
| |visible minority and less visible minority groups, language and religious |
| |groups etc.) |
|I – Intervention or Exposure |Providing culturally appropriate language services for all public health |
| |programs or community health interventions: translation/interpreter services; |
| |multilingual services; culturally tailored health promotion or patient |
| |education interventions; |
|C – Comparison/Control |Mainstream population being offered public health programs in the official |
| |language (i.e. English) |
|O – Outcome of Interest |Health outcomes; Self-related health status; Client |
| |satisfaction/access/participation; |
PICO Question: Does providing public health programs ensuring culturally appropriate language services improve: access to and use of public health services offered in ethno-culturally diverse communities, increase client satisfaction and/or result in improved perceived health or health status indicators when compared with the delivery of the same programs using only the mainstream official language(s)?
Forms of Evidence
Peer-reviewed research: is scholarly work, research or ideas that have been subjected to the scrutiny of other who are experts in the same field; evidence that is retrieved through standard searchable databases.
Grey literature: refers to material that is not formally published, such as institutional or technical reports, working papers, or other documents not normally subject to editorial control or peer-review. It may be widely available yet difficult to trace through conventional channels such as through publications or bibliographic databases. In the context of this tool, grey literature refers to material that is still of very strong methodology and high quality, such as reports prepared by WHO or NICE.
Practice Reviews: refers to relevant documents collected from other organizations in the field, such as reports from other health departments. Practice reviews are not published material, are typically found through an internet search, and include documents or reports available on an organization’s website.
Information from Key Informants/Field Experts: refers to sources of unpublished information that we retrieve through informal channels. For example, information we retrieve through a professional listserv or through contact (e.g., email or telephone) with an expert or colleague in the field.
Realist Reviews: can be considered an ‘up and coming’ form of evidence. A realist review is an evolving design whereby it may take the form of a peer-reviewed paper which applies a realist synthesis in a systematic and rigorous way; or whereby it is an approach taken by a field expert or organization to examine a particular topic. A realist review takes an explanatory versus a judgemental focus and aims to examine all the factors which should be considered in the decision-making process; that is, the qualitative and quantitative evidence, as well as situational and contextual factors (e.g., political climate and why a program may or may not be effective in a particular setting). For example, a realist approach would examine not only whether or not a program was effective, but under what conditions and for which target groups it was effective. Realist reviews may fit into a variety of levels of evidence (e.g., synthesis or grey literature) depending on the approach taken and from where they are retrieved.
Note: As you move down the hierarchy of evidence and through the various forms of evidence, you are also moving through a spectrum of quality, with the highest quality being the peer-reviewed literature. Accordingly, each level of evidence would be weighted differently based on this hierarchy.
Levels of Evidence
[pic]
|Hierarchy of Evidence: Definitions and Examples |
|Levels of Evidence |Definition |Examples: |
|Systems |Decision support services that match information |Computerized decision support systems (CDSS) |
| |from individual patients with the best evidence | |
| |from research that applies (Haynes, 2007). | |
| |Note: No such system currently exists in the | |
| |public health setting. | |
|Summaries |Integrates the best available evidence from lower |Clinical Practice Guidelines |
| |layers to provide a full range of evidence | |
| |concerning management options for a given health |Evidence-Based Textbooks |
| |problem (Haynes, 2007). | |
|Synopses of Syntheses |Synopses of systematic reviews that encapsulate |Healthevidence.ca |
| |the key methodological details and results | |
| |required to apply the evidence (Haynes, 2001) |Evidence-based abstract journals |
| | | |
| | |CDC ranked sites |
|Syntheses |Systematic consolidation of the literature on a |Cochrane Library Reviews |
| |specific topic. | |
| | |Campbell Collaboration Reviews |
|[pic] Consult your Manager if unable to retrieve citations from the above sources to determine if search for single studies is|
|appropriate.) |
|Synopses of Single Studies |Synopses of individual studies that encapsulate |Evidence-based abstract journals |
| |the key methodological details and results | |
| |required to apply the evidence (Haynes, 2001). | |
|Studies |Contributes to clinical decisions if no higher |PubMed clinical queries |
| |level of preprocessed evidence is available. | |
| | |CINAHL clinical queries |
Converting the PICO Question into a Search Strategy
To convert your PICO questions into a search strategy, always consult the MeSH to identify appropriate key terms to conduct search:
1) “Your Terms” – brainstorm relevant terms for each section of the PICO question
2) MeSH headings – identify the appropriate MeSH terms in MEDLINE that match “your terms”
Note:
▪ Think of alternate spellings, synonyms and truncations (*)
(Note: Consult the thesaurus of each specific database for specific terms used by the database. Eg: If using MEDLINE for your search, use “MeSH” (Medical Subject Heading) terms in your search.
▪ Use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to narrow or expand search strategy (see below for definitions)
Example: You are interested finding out if quit and win contests are effective in producing short-term and/or long-term quit rates among adults.
| |Population |Intervention or |Comparisons |Outcomes |
| | |Exposure | | |
|Your terms |Adults |Quit and Win Contest |No intervention |Short-term quit rates |
|(pull key words from pg.1 | | | | |
|PICO table) | | | |Long-term quit rates |
|MeSH headings Consult the |Adults |Smoking cessation |----- |Smoking cessation; |
|thesaurus of each specific | | | | |
|database for specific terms| |Competition | |Tobacco use cessation |
|used by specific databases | | | | |
|(e.g., in MEDLINE these | |Contest | | |
|terms are MeSH headings, | | | | |
|other databases use other | |Prize | | |
|terms) | | | | |
In the example above, the terms “quit and win contest” and “quit rates” are not terms indexed under MeSH. Alternative terms that are indexed in MeSH are provided above and should be used when developing your search strategy.
Understanding Boolean Logic
Boolean logic consists of three logical operators: OR, AND & NOT
Boolean Operators:
• OR logic finds studies containing either of the specified words/phrases, and broadens your search
• AND logic finds studies containing both specified words/phrases, and narrows your search
• NOT logic excludes records from your search results
Note: “*” is a truncation symbol that means further letters can be added to the word
Each operator can be visually described by using Venn diagrams, as shown below:
Boolean Operator : OR
college OR university
OR logic is most commonly used to search for synonymousterms or concepts.
The more terms or concepts we combine in a search with OR logic, the more records we will retrieve.
Boolean Operator: AND
poverty AND crime
The more terms or concepts we combine in a search with AND logic, the fewer records we will retrieve.
A few Internet search engines make use of the proximity operator NEAR. A proximity operator determines the closeness of terms within the text of a source document. NEAR is a restrictive AND. The closeness of the search terms is determined by the particular search engine. Google defaults to proximity searching by default.
Boolean Operator: NOT
cats NOT dogs
NOT logic excludes records from your search results. Be careful when you use NOT: the term you do want may be present in an important way in documents that also contain the word you wish to avoid.
Search symbols
|/ |after an index term indicates that all subheadings were selected. |
|* |before an index term indicates that that term was focused - i.e. limited to records where the term was a major |
| |MeSH term. |
|"exp" |before an index term indicates that the term was exploded. |
|.tw. |indicates a search for a term in title/abstract |
|.mp. |indicates a free text search for a term |
|.pt. |indicates a search for a publication type |
|$ |at the end of a term indicates that this term has been truncated. |
|? |in the middle of a term indicates the use of a wildcard. |
|adj |indicates a search for two terms where they appear adjacent to one another |
Search Terms
|Text Words for Searching in MEDLINE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO |
|Clinical Query |Text Words |
|Therapy/Intervention |Clinical trial*, controlled trial*, double-blind, placebo* |
|Diagnosis |Diagnosis, diagnostic use, predictive value, sensitivity, specificity |
|Etiology |Case control, cohort, etiolog*, odds ratio*, relative risk* |
|Prognosis |Follow-up, followup, morbidity, mortality, outcome*, predict*, prognos* |
|Systematic Review |CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PsycLit, critical analys*, integrative review*, |
| |meta-anal*, systematic review* |
|Clinical Practice Guideline |Guideline*, standards |
|Qualitative Studies |Interview*, listen*, observ*, phenomenology*, qualitative*, quality of |
| |life,questionnaire*, survey*, triangulat* |
*Asterisk indicates the term is to be truncated
Description of Search Engines
|Search Engine |Definition |Produced by: |Search Tips |
|OVID |OVID is a search engine that allows you to search multiple|Wolters Kluwer |[pic]Uses Boolean Operators |
| |databases (e.g., PubMed, CINAHL, Global Health) |Health |[pic]Uses MeSH (Medical |
| |simultaneously. | |Subject Headings) |
Description of Sample Databases
|Sample Database |Definition |Produced by: |Search Tips |
|Academic Search Premier |The world’s largest multi-disciplinary database containing|EBSCO |[pic]Uses Boolean Operators |
| |full text for nearly 4,500 journals, including more than |Publishing | |
| |3,600 peer-reviewed titles. Areas of study include: social| | |
| |sciences, humanities, education, computer sciences, | | |
| |engineering, language and linguistics, arts and | | |
| |literature, medical sciences and ethnic studies. | | |
|CINAHL with Full Text |The Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature|Cinahl Information | |
| |database provides authoritative coverage of the literature|Systems |[pic]Uses Boolean Operators |
| |related to nursing and allied health literature. The | |[pic]Uses CINAHL thesaurus |
| |database provides full text for more than 600 journals. | | |
|Cochrane Central Register |Contains more than 300,000 bibliographic references to |The Cochrane | |
|of Controlled Trials |controlled trials in health care that are registered as |Collaboration |[pic]Uses Boolean Operators |
|(CCRCT) |relevant for inclusion in Cochrane Reviews. | |[pic]Uses MeSH (Medical |
| | |Note: The Cochrane |Subject Headings) |
| | |Library includes 7 | |
| | |databases in total. |Search can be limited to: |
| | | |A specific title |
| | | |Particular date range |
| | | | |
| | | |Note: When searching the Cochrane Library, you |
| | | |automatically search all 7 databases at once. |
| | | |(You can select to search one database by using|
| | | |the Advanced Search Feature). |
|Cochrane Database of |This database in the Cochrane Library brings together all |The Cochrane |[pic]Uses Boolean Operators |
|Systematic Reviews (CDSR) |the currently available Cochrane Reviews and Protocols for|Collaboration |[pic]Uses MeSH (Medical |
| |Cochrane Reviews. | |Subject Headings) |
| | |Note: The Cochrane | |
| | |Library includes 7 |Search can be limited to: |
| | |databases in total. |A specific title |
| | | |Particular date range |
| | | | |
| | | |Note: When searching the Cochrane Library, you |
| | | |automatically search all 7 databases at once. |
| | | |(You can select to search one database by using|
| | | |the Advanced Search Feature) |
|Database of Abstracts of |This full-text database contains critical assessments and |National Health | |
|Reviews of Effectiveness |structured abstracts of systematic reviews from health |Services Center for |[pic]Uses Boolean Operators |
|(DARE) |care journals from around the world. It covers topics such|Reviews and |[pic]Uses MeSH (Medical |
| |as diagnosis, prevention, rehabilitation, screening, and |Dissemination (NHS |Subject Headings) |
| |treatment. |CRD) at University of| |
| | |York, England |Search can be limited to: |
| | | |A specific title |
| | | |Particular date range |
|EMBASE (Excerpta Medica |Database covering the worldwide literature on biomedical |Elsevier Science |EMBASE uses EMTREE, a hierachically ordered |
|Database) |and pharmaceutical fields. Indexes a large proportion of | |controlled vocabulary. (Note: EMTREE terms are |
| |the European biomedical and science literature. | |different from MeSH terms and should not be |
| | | |confused when performing searches.) |
|ERIC (the Educational |Provides access to education literature and resources. |ERIC Clearinghouse |Use the Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors – the |
|Resource Information |ERIC provides full text of more than 2,200 digests along |system |Thesaurus uses a controlled vocabulary. |
|Centre) |with references for additional information and citations | | |
| |and abstracts from over 1,000 educational and | |[pic]Uses Boolean Operators |
| |education-related journals. | | |
| | | |Search can be limited to: |
| | | |A specific title |
| | | |Particular date range |
|MEDLINE |Provides authoritative medical information on medicine, |U.S. National Library|[pic]Uses Boolean Operators |
| |nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care |of Medicine |[pic]Uses MeSH (Medical |
| |system, pre-clinical sciences, biological and physical | |Subject Headings) |
| |sciences, humanities as well as many more. Contains | | |
| |citations from over 4,800 current biomedical journals. | |Search can be limited to: |
| | | |A specific title |
| | | |Particular date range |
|Nursing & Allied Health |Database contains nearly 400 full text journals, including|EBSCO |[pic]Uses Boolean Operators |
|Collection: Comprehensive |nearly 300 peer-reviewed titles covering the areas of |Publishing | |
|Edition |nursing, biomedicine, health sciences, consumer health and| |Search can be limited to: |
| |allied health disciplines. Nursing, and many more. | |A specific title |
| | | |Particular date range |
|PsycINFO |Professional and academic literature in psychology and |The American |Use the Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms |
| |related disciplines including medicine, psychiatry, |Psychological |to choose descriptors or subject headings that |
| |nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, physiology, |Association |describe your concepts. The Thesaurus provides |
| |linguistics, and other areas. | |the official terminology or authoritative list |
| | | |of subjects used in the database. |
| | | |[pic]Uses Boolean Operators |
| | | | |
| | | |Search can be limited to: |
| | | |A specific title |
| | | |Particular date range |
|The Psychology & |Database providing nearly 600 full text publications, |EBSCO |[pic]Uses Boolean Operators |
|Behavioral Sciences |including nearly 550 peer-reviewed journals. The database |Publishing | |
|Collection |covers topics such as emotional and behavioral | |Search can be limited to: |
| |characteristics, psychiatry & psychology, mental | |A specific title |
| |processes, anthropology, and observational and | |Particular date range |
| |experimental methods. | | |
|TRIP Database |UK clinical search engine. The primary goal of the TRIP |TRIP Database Ltd. | |
| |database is to provide clinicians and other health | |[pic]Uses Boolean Operators |
| |professionals with timely, evidence-based answers to | | |
| |clinical questions. The TRIP database searches multiple | |Search can be limited to: |
| |sites and filters results into various categories (based | |A specific title |
| |on an evidence-based medicine hierarchy), including: | | |
| |evidence-based synopses, systematic reviews, primary | | |
| |research, online textbooks and resources, clinical | | |
| |questions and answers, and guidelines from various | | |
| |countries. | | |
Limiting your Search
What limits did you place on your search?
If the number of hits that you retrieve from your search is too large, you may need to further refine your search by placing limits. A search that retrieves 3-5 high quality systematic reviews, for example, may be ideal for your topic.
You can place limits on many items, including: publication years, publication types (e.g.,
systematic reviews and RCTs), and language. The limits you can place on your search will vary by database.
Saving your Search
Saving your search is important since it will allow for your search to be replicated or updated in the future, and ensures transparency in your methodology.
The methods for saving your search will differ based on the databases you are using. Look for save functions in the databases you are using that will allow you to edit your searches at a later time. In Medline (Ovid) you can save your search by going to the results manager, and clicking on the ‘search strategy’ box, and then clicking on ‘display’. You can also save your search history, email it to yourself and copy and paste into your worksheet.
You can copy and paste your search details directly into your ‘Database Search Strategy Worksheet’, including:
• Key terms used in the search
• Boolean operators used to expand or refine searches
• Limits placed on the date of publication (e.g., articles published from 2000-2009)
Here is an example of the search details provided by Medline (Ovid) for a search on Quit and Win Contests for Smoking Cessation. Cutting and pasting the search details into the textbox provided in the “Database Search Strategy Worksheet” is found below. Documenting the search details will allow you to repeat your search at a later time if needed.
Using the Overview of Search Process for the Final Report
The Overview of Search Process (pg. 24) should be included in the appendix of your final report. This template allows the reader to review the databases searched, the number of citations retrieved for each database, and the number of citations deemed relevant to your research question. This template can be accessed at [insert link here]
Revising your Search
If you have not found the information you are looking for to answer your research question, you may consider repeating your search again, using:
different databases
different search terms
reference lists available from retrieved articles
[pic]
The Library will manage distribution of journal articles for review/critical appraisal by the Rapid Review Teams. Below are some guiding Copyright Principles for acquisition of articles for critical appraisal. The lead on each Rapid Review Team will inform the library as to the names of individuals requiring articles.
Copyright Principles guiding Journal articles for Critical Appraisal
1. The Library is allowed to send a paper copy for personal study.
2. The Library is not allowed to send PDF’s (electronic copies) of articles.
3. Both Peel Public Health employees and people working with Peel Public Health may receive one paper copy (per person) for personal study.
4. If the Library subscribes to an electronic journal, Peel Public Health employees can click on the link to the article, and read on screen or print.
5. Electronic copies of articles may not be stored in central locations, such as EIM.
References
DiCenso A, Guyatt R, Ciliska D. Evidence-Based Nursing: A Guide to Clinical Practice. St. Louis: Mosby; 2005.
Ciliska D, Thomas H, Buffett C. A Compendium of Critical Appraisal Tools for Public Health Practice [Internt]. National Collaborating Centre for Research Methods and Tools; February 2008. [cited 2010 Dec 6]. Available from:
Haynes RB. Of studies, summaries, synopses, and systems: the “4S” evolution of services for finding current best evidence. Evid Based Mental Health. 2001;4:37-9.
Haynes RB. Of studies, summaries, synopses and systems: the “5S” evolution of information services for evidence-based healthcare decisions. Evid Based Nurs. 2007; 10:6-7.
Robeson, P. Health-evidence.ca: Evidence-Informed public health: Searching for Public Health Evidence- the 6 Ss of searching.
[pic]
-----------------------
Not sure what these types of questions are? Go to page 9 in glossary for definitions and examples of each question type.
Go to pages 10-14 in glossary for examples of PICO questions.
[pic]
Haynes, 2007
Go to pages 18 -19 in glossary for example and guidance on search terms
(e.g., Boolean Logic and search
symbols).
Go to pages 20-22 in glossary for descriptions of sample
databases.
Go to pages 22-23 in glossary for information on how to save your search
Source: Robeson, P. Evidence-Informed public health: Searching for Public Health Evidence- the 6 Ss of searching.
Adapted from: The George Washington University Medical Centre; The Cochrane Collaboration 2005. Virtual Library – EBSCO Host.
Overview of Search Process
(date)
Source: Health-evidence.ca. (2009, November 25). Keeping Track of Search Results: A Flowchart. Retrieved [insert date you downloaded this document e.g., January 13, 2010],
Link to tool: .
Potentially relevant articles (#)
Relevance assessment of full document versions (#)
Weak articles (#)
Total relevant articles (#)
Non-relevant articles (#)
Systems (#)
Relevance
criteria #3
(#)
Relevance
criteria #1
(#)
Relevance
criteria #2
(#)
Quality assessment of relevant articles (#)
Strong articles (#)
Moderate articles (#)
Primary relevance assessment
Removal of duplicates
Non-relevant (based on title
and abstract screening) (#)
Duplicates (#)
Summaries (#)
Synopses of Syntheses (#)
Synopses of Single studies (#)
Syntheses (#)
Total identified articles (#)
Single Studies
(#)
Database: Ovid MEDLINE(R) Search Strategy:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Smoking Cessation/ (14007)
2 smok$ cessat*.tw. (10251)
3 1 or 2 (17522)
4 ((quit adj win*) or (competition* or contest* or prize*)).tw. (51350)
5 3 and 4 (120)
6 limit 5 to yr=2008-2010 (21)
7 from 6 keep 1-21 (21)
8 from 7 keep 1-21 (21)
................
................
In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.
To fulfill the demand for quickly locating and searching documents.
It is intelligent file search solution for home and business.
Related download
Related searches
- admin tool for xfinity
- evidence based strategies for teaching
- loan amortization tool for pc
- evidence based practice for nurses
- evidence based interventions for reading
- evidence based treatment for psychosis
- cms mapping tool for pdpm
- download windows media tool for windows 10
- tool for bending aluminum flashing
- cleanup disk tool for windows 10 free
- paraphrasing tool for students
- tool for measuring angles carpentry