UC Library Guides: Systematic Reviews in Health: Database Searching

Database Searching

Once the research protocol is completed, Library database searching can begin. This page provides ideas of sources to search but the actual sources to search will vary according to the subject area of your Systematic Review.

For many Systematic Reviews, a search of the large citation databases, such as MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Web of Science, is sufficient. A more comprehensive Systematic Review will also search other sources, including a search of the Grey Literature. Note that the Cochrane Handbook, Section 6.2.1 provides guidance on bibliographic databases to search when completing a Systematic Review.¹

Searching Grey Literature

There are many definitions of grey literature, but it is generally understood to mean literature that is not formally published in sources such as books or journal articles. Conference abstracts for example, are a form of grey literature. See the Library Guide Grey Literature Searching in Health for sources of Grey Literature.

Large Citation Databases to Search

CINAHL Plus with Full Text (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Provides full text to more than 770 journals in the areas of nursing, biomedicine, health sciences librarianship, alternative/complementary medicine, consumer health and allied health disciplines.
Cochrane Library This link opens in a new window
Cochrane Library includes the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), which are the "Gold Standard" for high-quality systematic reviews.
Also includes Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE), which contains abstracts of systematic reviews that have been quality-assessed. Each abstract includes a summary of the review together with a critical commentary about the overall quality. DARE complements the CDSR by quality-assessing and summarising reviews that have not yet been carried out by The Cochrane Collaboration.
MEDLINE (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
Compiled by the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) and includes bibliographic information for articles from academic journals covering medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and health care.
MEDLINE currently contains close to 25 million references to journal articles from the 1950s onwards.
PsycINFO (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
Abstracts of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, PsychInfo is a resource devoted to peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health. Coverage 1887 - present
Scopus This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of research literature and quality web sources.
NOTE: Scopus includes EMBASE citations.
Web of Science Core Collection This link opens in a new window
Includes:
Science Citation Index Expanded (1974+)
Social Sciences Citation Index (1974+)
Arts and Humanities Citation Index (1975+)
Conference Proceedings Citation Index- Science (1990+)
Conference Proceedings Citation Index- Social Science & Humanities (1990+)
Current Chemical Reactions (1985+)
Index Chemicus (1993+)

Trials Register Databases to Search

Cochrane Central Registrar of controlled Trials (CENTRAL) This link opens in a new window
Concentrated source of reports of randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials.
The majority of CENTRAL records are taken from bibliographic databases (mainly MEDLINE and Embase), but records are also derived from other published and unpublished sources.
CENTRAL records often include an abstract but do not contain the full text of the article.
ClinicalTrials.gov This link opens in a new window
Registers trials that are recruiting and reports which have been completed.
Includes results for many studies.
Majority of the trials in this registry are never published, so a good place to search for clinical trial data.
Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registery (ANZCTR) This link opens in a new window
An online register of clinical trials being undertaken in Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere.
Includes trials from the areas of pharmaceuticals, surgical procedures, preventive measures, lifestyle, devices, treatment and rehabilitation strategies and complementary therapies.
Australian Clinical Trials This link opens in a new window
his National Health and Medical Research Council website provides a search for Australian trials and a list of other clinical trials registers.
See Further Resources to search for trials or trial websites.
World Health Organisation International Clinical Trials Registry Platform This link opens in a new window
ICTRP provides access to a central database containing the trial registration data sets provided by a number of trial registries. It also provides links to the full original records.
ISRCTN registry (BioMed Central) This link opens in a new window
Primary clinical trial registry recognised by WHO and ICMJE that accepts all clinical research studies (whether proposed, ongoing or completed), providing content validation and curation and the unique identification number necessary for publication.

Reporting the Search

Use the PRSMA-S extension for reporting your database search.

PRISMA-S

The PRISMA-S extension is available here.

References

1. Higgins, P.T., & Green, S. (eds.). (2008). Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions. Chichester, England ; Hoboken, NJ : Wiley- Blackwell. Available: http://handbook.cochrane.org/