Systematic Review

It is very important to keep an accurate record of your searches so that they can be included in your report, enabling someone to reproduce them if necessary. This is also needed for you to be able to reproduce the search, if you need to run an update at a later time.

• Build up each search in steps
• Make a note of your keywords (generally, the ones you use in the title/abstract or "topic" fields) in a Word document. You can then paste these into the different databases and ensure your searches are the same
• Keep a record of the date you searched, the name of the database, and the platform
• Register with the databases so that you can access your search strategy, combine searches, and save them
• You may want to set up alerts using your search strategy so that you are notified of any new papers relevant to your review

You can find details of search strategies others have used by looking at previous examples of systematic reviews. Select from the following sites:

• 3ie Systematic Reviews

  Covers reviews in international development.

• The Campbell Collaboration Online Library

  Covers crime and justice, education, international development, and social welfare.

• DoPHER (Database of Promoting Health Effectiveness Reviews)

  Health promotion and public health.