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Evidence Synthesis

Evidence Synthesis Process: Identifying

Identifying: Identifying all the possible studies that address your question is key to a rigorous systematic review. Your initial searches should yield hundreds if not thousands of citations. Some steps can be done concurrently. For example, one team member can work on searching databases while another works on searching the grey literature.
Identifying Step
Explanation
Identify databases you will search

Including both general and subject specific databases.
Create a search based on your research question

Using advanced search strategies such as combining synonyms with OR and using wildcards and proximity operators to find variants.
Translate the search For each database using appropriate controlled vocabulary and correct syntax.
Store the results of each search

Separately, using a citation manager.
Document each search

Including:

  • number of citations
  • exact search string
  • database
  • date search was run
  • any limits applied
Search grey literature

Such as:

  • theses
  • conference proceedings
  • repositories
  • government documents
  • clinical trial registries

to address publication bias
Search other sources Such as reference lists, relevant journals that are not entirely indexed in databases, and researcher bibliographies.
Helpful Tools

Full Text Retrieval Instructions

Step 1: Decide if the student assistant (or grad assistant) will be using Covidence to access the Review Team's work.

Yes, the student will use Covidence.

Someone will need to create an account for the student assistant.  Student access to the project in Covidence is the easiest and most efficient way to proceed.

Student workflow suggestion:

In Covidence, the student should

  1. Click on "Full text review" and then click the "Continue" blue box
  2. Click on the "Bulk upload missing full text" button
  3. Click "Download studies" button to save an .RIS file on your computer
  4. Import the .RIS file into Zotero

No, the student will not have access to Covidence.

If the student assistant is not added to Covidence, then the librarian who is part of the review team or the library staff supervisor will be the point of contact and will need to decide the workflow for the student.

Student workflow suggestion:

Use Box and create a folder for the student. The student assistant will need a list of studies that need the full text retrieved.  As the student finds the PDFs, they can upload them to the Box folder.

This workflow is less efficient but provides some quality control and limits the number of non-team members accessing the project in Covidence.  The librarian can decide who will import into Covidence.

Notes

  • Covidence Help: Importing references (includes bulk uploading of PDFs) 
  • Covidence: Student assistants will require minimal orientation to Covidence, specifically how to download a list of studies from Covidence that do not have the full-text (PDFs) and how to upload the PDFs of the missing studies. Students may also use Zotero to upload an Endnote XML file.
  • Zotero: If the student assistant will be using Zotero, they will need training.  A list of studies (.RIS file) from Covidence can be downloaded to Zotero.  Students will work on getting the full text of the studies.  When finished they will import an Endnote XML file to Covidence.

Step 2: Full text retrieval (two options):

Automated Process (using Zotero):

  1. Use the Zotero browser plugin to download PDFs to a Zotero folder.
  2. After all available PDFs have been added to the folder, export the folder as an Endnote XML file (be sure to select Export Notes and Export Files options) to your computer and import the file into Covidence. 
  3. Detailed instructions available on the Covidence Guide.  See Bulk Uploading Full-Text Using Covidence and Zotero.

 

Manual Process:

  1. Search OneSearch by article title and download the PDF on your computer, and manually upload to Covidence (or Box if that is your workflow).
  2. Search Google Scholar by article title and download the PDF on your computer, and manually upload to Covidence (or Box if that is your workflow).
  3. Consult Covidence Help: Importing references, or let the supervisor know you've completed the task of finding and uploading to Box the PDFs.

 

Notes

  • If you are not a Zotero user and would like to use Zotero, you will need to consult the Zotero Guide and install Zotero on your computer, and install the Zotero browser plugin. Zotero is a free citation manager.
  • Results vary (check to make sure the PDF was downloaded, etc.)
  • False hits – incorrect doc downloaded (PDF did not match what you thought you were retrieving); the full-text review in Covidence will detect the error, and the PDF will need to be found and uploaded.
  • Covidence Help: Importing references (includes bulk uploading of PDFs) 

Notes

  • Upload as you go or you can opt to batch load.  It is easier to upload as you go, especially when the same author publishes frequently, and it can get confusing.
  • Using the article's DOI is another way of finding the full text. Example of a DOI in a citation.
  • You can use LibKey Nomad to download PDFs.  PDF is the preferred format.  Having PDFs of every article facilitates Covidence data extraction.
  • What is Libkey Nomad? It is a browser extension that appears when it detects an available PDF. This toolbar will appear when you're looking at the article list in Covidence or on other webpages. 

Tracking Stats

Please have the student record the number of full-text studies retrieved and the amount of time it took.  Please provide this information to the student supervisor or librarian.  Tracking helps us provide research teams with realistic expectations for how long it will take to complete this part of the review process. Thank you!

 

  1. Articles not found will need to be passed on to the student supervisor or librarian, who will use OsoFast (Interlibrary Loan) to obtain the needed studies.  One solution to obtaining missing studies is to contact the authors to obtain PDFs. 
  2. Any foreign language articles not found should also be given to the librarian or library staff member to search.

  3. Whomever has access to Covidence should tag articles that have been requested through Interlibrary Loan (ILL). Tagging articles in Covidence with tags such as “ILL sent” will help keep track of the progress.

  4. Once the needed articles are received, download the PDFs to your computer.
  5. Upload the PDFs to Covidence. Zotero can be used, fyi.

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