search strategies for literature review

The search strategy should define how relevant literature will be identified. It should identify sources to be searched (list of databases and trial registries) and keywords used in the literature (list of keywords). The search strategy should be documented as an integral part of the systematic review protocol.

INTRODUCTION. Librarians and information specialists are often involved in the process of preparing and completing systematic reviews (SRs), where one of their main tasks is to identify relevant references to include in the review [].Although several recommendations for the process of searching have been published [2-6], none describe the development of a systematic search strategy from ...

The preliminary search is the point in the research process where you can identify a gap in the literature. Use the search strategies above to help you get started. If you have any questions or need help with developing your search strategy, please schedule an appointment with a librarian. We are available to meet online and in-person.

Have a search framework. Search frameworks are mnemonics which can help you focus your research question. They are also useful in helping you to identify the concepts and terms you will use in your literature search. PICO is a search framework commonly used in the health sciences to focus clinical questions. As an example, you work in an aged ...

Specific proximity symbols will vary. Check the 'Help' section of the database you are searching. 4. Improve your search results. All library databases are different and you can't always search and refine in the same way. Try to be consistent when transferring your search in the library databases you have chosen.

Examples of literature reviews. Step 1 - Search for relevant literature. Step 2 - Evaluate and select sources. Step 3 - Identify themes, debates, and gaps. Step 4 - Outline your literature review's structure. Step 5 - Write your literature review.

A search strategy is the method by which relevant sources are found, usually by searching selected databases and search engines using a mix of keywords, controlled vocabulary and search operators. Relevance is determined by a review question for which guidelines can be found in Sections 4.2 and 4.3.

Developing a search strategy is a balance between needing a very precise search that yields fewer highly relevant results or a comprehensive search (high retrieval) with lower precision. The focus of a narrative literature review for a dissertation or thesis is thoroughness, so you should aim for high retrieval.

Look up your 'sample set' articles in a database that you will use for your literature review. For the articles indexed in the database, look at the records to see what keywords and/or subject headings are listed. The 'gold set' will also provide a means of testing your search strategy

KEY POINTS. A search strategy includes a combination of keywords, subject headings, and limiters (language, date, publication type, etc.); A search strategy should be planned out and practiced before executing the final search in a database. A search strategy and search results should be documented throughout the searching process.

Overview of Search Strategies. There are many ways to find literature for your review, and we recommend that you use a combination of strategies - keeping in mind that you're going to be searching multiple times in a variety of ways, using different databases and resources. Searching the literature is not a straightforward, linear process - it ...

In this review, we focus on literature searching, specifically the development of the search strategies used in systematic reviews. This is a complex process ( Cooper et al., 2018 ; Lefebvre et al., 2020 ), in which the search methods and choice of databases to be used to identify literature for the systematic review are specified and peer ...

Abstract. Undertaking a literature search can be a daunting prospect. Breaking the exercise down into smaller steps will make the process more manageable. This article suggests 10 steps that will help readers complete this task, from identifying key concepts to choosing databases for the search and saving the results and search strategy.

A search strategy is an organised structure of key terms used to search a database. The search strategy combines the key concepts of your search question in order to retrieve accurate results. Your search strategy will account for all: possible search terms. keywords and phrases. truncated and wildcard variations of search terms.

One area that is less well covered by the guidance, but nevertheless appears in this literature, is the quality appraisal or peer review of literature search strategies. The PRESS checklist is the most prominent and it aims to develop evidence-based guidelines to peer review of electronic search strategies [5, 122, 123]. A corresponding ...

A good plan is to try out a new strategy and check that it has picked up the key studies that you would expect it to find based on your existing knowledge of the topic area. If it hasn't, you can explore the reasons for this, revise the strategy, check it for errors, and try it again! 3. Run and record the search.

The authors have established a method that describes step by step the process of developing a systematic search strategy as needed in the systematic review. This method describes how single-line search strategies can be prepared in a text document by typing search syntax (such as field codes, parentheses, and Boolean operators) before copying ...

If your search strategies are not very developed, the method you use doesn't lead to a good search, then consider using one of the other methods to see if changing your approach helps. ... Tags: dissertation, grey literature, literature review, literature reviews, postgraduate, prisma, prisma flow diagram, rapid evidence reviews, undergraduate ...

Developing Search Strategies. When conducting a literature search, it is important to develop a strategy so that your literature review is comprehensive and complete. Therefore it helps to develop a search strategy. The following are tips that can help you as you develop your search strategy. Using a Framework. Identifying Search Terms.

Creating a Search Strategy. A well constructed search strategy is the core of your systematic review and will be reported on in the methods section of your paper. The search strategy retrieves the majority of the studies you will assess for eligibility & inclusion. The quality of the search strategy also affects what items may have been missed.

It is important to keep track of your searches and results every step of the way in a Systematic Review. If you've read the PRISMA Guidelines, you know that there is a flow chart that should be included with your review which maps the results found, excludes vs. includes, reasons for decisions and dates. A spreadsheet in Excel can help you keep ...

B.1. Clinical search literature search strategy. Searches were constructed using a PICO framework where population (P) terms were combined with Intervention (I) and in some cases Comparison (C) terms. Outcomes (O) are rarely used in search strategies for interventions as these concepts may not be well described in title, abstract or indexes and ...

The search strategies for individual review questions can be combined with search filters to identify economic evidence. If using this approach, it may be necessary to adapt strategies for some databases to ensure adequate sensitivity. ... Quality assuring the literature search is an important step in developing guideline recommendations ...

Types of reviews and examples. Definition: "A term used to describe a conventional overview of the literature, particularly when contrasted with a systematic review (Booth et al., 2012, p. 265). Characteristics: Example: Mitchell, L. E., & Zajchowski, C. A. (2022). The history of air quality in Utah: A narrative review.

Systematic Review. Attempts to identify, appraise, and summarize all empirical evidence that fits pre-specified eligibility criteria to answer a specific research question. clearly defined question with inclusion/exclusion criteria. rigorous and systematic search of the literature. thorough screening of results. data extraction and management.

Search strategy. A two-fold search strategy was undertaken for this review, which covered the last 10 years (2013-2022). First, recent systematic reviews pertaining to research or evaluation of SRH interventions in humanitarian settings were identified through keyword searches on PubMed and Google Scholar.

Design & setting Systematic review of interventions targeting social isolation in community-dwelling adults aged 18-64 within ambulatory healthcare settings. Method A search strategy was developed to identify relevant articles in the following databases: Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, EBM Reviews, Scopus, CINAHL and PsychInfo.

2.1 Search strategy. The systematic assessment and subsequent meta-analysis followed the guidelines established by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) , and a corresponding report was generated. Extensive literature searches in the PubMed and CNKI databases were finished, and articles from the Web of ...

Methods: A systematic literature search following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines was conducted on 22 nd of February 2022 using the Ovid MEDLINE and Web of Science databases. Three categories of search terms were used: (1) self-harm, self-injury, self-mutilation, suicide, self-poisoning; (2 ...

This paper analyses the literature related to the underrepresentation of women academics in order to identify the factors that influence the underrepresentation of women in higher-education teaching, academic leadership and research. In order to accomplish this, we conducted a review of 83 research articles from 2005 to June 2023 available in the Web of Science database and their references.