Guides: Evidence Synthesis: Identifying

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.