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Search strategies

The following examples are filters used by the BMJ Knowledge Centre, but there are others available. Some databases may have filters already set up which may be helpful (e.g., PubMed).[1] For further advice and support in the design and development of your search strategy, consult your Library or Information Services staff, who should be able to assist.

Our systematic review and RCT search strategies have been designed and tested in-house by BMJ Knowledge Centre information specialists. Our observational study and adverse effects filters were also designed in-house. Strategies have been designed to retrieve studies most likely to meet our methodological criteria. In designing our strategies we have been aware of, and at times have drawn on, search strategy work conducted by others. Strategy work we have drawn on — plus additional related work — can be viewed courtesy of the InterTASC Information Specialists' Sub-Group (ISSG) website.[2]

N.B. All the search strategies shown below, have been created for the OVID online search interface

Medline systematic review strategy

  1. review.pt.
  2. (medline or medlars or embase or pubmed or cochrane).tw,sh.
  3. (scisearch or psychinfo or psycinfo).tw,sh.
  4. (psychlit or psyclit).tw,sh.
  5. cinahl.tw,sh.
  6. ((hand adj2 search$) or (manual$ adj2 search$)).tw,sh.
  7. (electronic database$ or bibliographic database$ or computeri?ed database$ or online database$).tw,sh.
  8. (pooling or pooled or mantel haenszel).tw,sh.
  9. (peto or dersimonian or der simonian or fixed effect).tw,sh.
  10. (retraction of publication or retracted publication).pt.
  11. or/2-10
  12. 1 and 11
  13. meta-analysis.pt.
  14. meta-analysis.sh.
  15. (meta-analys$ or meta analys$ or metaanalys$).tw,sh.
  16. (systematic$ adj5 review$).tw,sh.
  17. (systematic$ adj5 overview$).tw,sh.
  18. (quantitativ$ adj5 review$).tw,sh.
  19. (quantitativ$ adj5 overview$).tw,sh.
  20. (quantitativ$ adj5 synthesis$).tw,sh.
  21. (methodologic$ adj5 review$).tw,sh.
  22. (methodologic$ adj5 overview$).tw,sh.
  23. (integrative research review$ or research integration).tw.
  24. or/13-23
  25. 12 or 24

Embase systematic review strategy

  1. exp review/
  2. (literature adj3 review$).ti,ab.
  3. exp meta analysis/
  4. exp "Systematic Review"/
  5. or/1-4
  6. (medline or medlars or embase or pubmed or cinahl or amed or psychlit or psyclit or psychinfo or psycinfo or scisearch or cochrane).ti,ab.
  7. RETRACTED ARTICLE/
  8. 6 or 7
  9. 5 and 8
  10. (systematic$ adj2 (review$ or overview)).ti,ab.
  11. (meta?anal$ or meta anal$ or meta-anal$ or metaanal$ or metanal$).ti,ab.
  12. 9 or 10 or 11

Medline randomized controlled trial strategy

  1. "randomized controlled trial".pt.
  2. (random$ or placebo$ or single blind$ or double blind$ or triple blind$).ti,ab.
  3. (retraction of publication or retracted publication).pt.
  4. or/1-3
  5. (animals not humans).sh.
  6. ((comment or editorial or meta-analysis or practice-guideline or review or letter) not "randomized controlled trial").pt.
  7. (random sampl$ or random digit$ or random effect$ or random survey or random regression).ti,ab. not "randomized controlled trial".pt.
  8. 4 not (5 or 6 or 7)

Embase randomized controlled trial strategy

  1. (random$ or placebo$ or single blind$ or double blind$ or triple blind$).ti,ab.
  2. RETRACTED ARTICLE/
  3. or/1-2
  4. (animal$ not human$).sh,hw.
  5. (book or conference paper or editorial or letter or review).pt. not exp randomized controlled trial/
  6. (random sampl$ or random digit$ or random effect$ or random survey or random regression).ti,ab. not exp randomized controlled trial/
  7. 3 not (4 or 5 or 6)

Medline cohort study strategy

  1. exp cohort studies/
  2. cohort$.tw.
  3. controlled clinical trial.pt.
  4. epidemiologic methods/
  5. limit 4 to yr=1971-1988
  6. or/1-3,5

Embase cohort study strategy

  1. exp cohort analysis/
  2. exp longitudinal study/
  3. exp prospective study/
  4. exp follow up/
  5. cohort$.tw.
  6. or/1-5

Medline cohort and case-control strategy

  1. exp cohort studies/
  2. cohort$.tw.
  3. controlled clinical trial.pt.
  4. epidemiologic methods/
  5. limit 4 to yr=1966-1989
  6. exp case-control studies/
  7. (case$ and control$).tw.
  8. or/1-3,5-7

Embase cohort and case-control strategy

  1. exp cohort analysis/
  2. exp longitudinal study/
  3. exp prospective study/
  4. exp follow up/
  5. cohort$.tw.
  6. exp case control study/
  7. (case$ and control$).tw.
  8. or/1-7

Medline cohort, case-control, and case series strategy

  1. exp cohort studies/
  2. cohort$.tw.
  3. controlled clinical trial.pt.
  4. epidemiologic methods/
  5. limit 4 to yr=1966-1989
  6. exp case-control studies/
  7. (case$ and control$).tw.
  8. (case$ and series).tw.
  9. or/1-3,5-8

Embase cohort, case-control, and case series strategy

  1. exp cohort analysis/
  2. exp longitudinal study/
  3. exp prospective study/
  4. exp follow up/
  5. cohort$.tw.
  6. exp case control study/
  7. (case$ and control$).tw.
  8. exp case study/
  9. (case$ and series).tw.
  10. or/1-9

Medline cohort, case-control, case series, and case study strategy

  1. exp cohort studies/
  2. cohort$.tw.
  3. controlled clinical trial.pt.
  4. epidemiologic methods/
  5. limit 4 to yr=1966-1989
  6. exp case-control studies/
  7. (case$ and control$).tw.
  8. (case$ and series).tw.
  9. case reports.pt.
  10. (case$ adj2 report$).tw.
  11. (case$ adj2 stud$).tw.
  12. or/1-3,5-11

Embase cohort, case-control, case series, and case study strategy

  1. exp cohort analysis/
  2. exp longitudinal study/
  3. exp prospective study/
  4. exp follow up/
  5. cohort$.tw.
  6. exp case control study/
  7. (case$ and control$).tw.
  8. exp case study/
  9. (case$ and series).tw.
  10. case report/
  11. (case$ adj2 report$).tw.
  12. (case$ adj2 stud$).tw.
  13. or/1-12

Medline adverse effects strategy

  1. (ae or to or po or co).fs.
  2. (safe or safety).ti,ab.
  3. side effect$.ti,ab.
  4. ((adverse or undesirable or harms$ or serious or toxic) adj3 (effect$ or reaction$ or event$ or outcome$)).ti,ab.
  5. exp product surveillance, postmarketing/
  6. exp adverse drug reaction reporting systems/
  7. exp clinical trials, phase iv/
  8. exp poisoning/
  9. exp substance-related disorders/
  10. exp drug toxicity/
  11. exp abnormalities, drug induced/
  12. exp drug monitoring/
  13. exp drug hypersensitivity/
  14. (toxicity or complication$ or noxious or tolerability).ti,ab.
  15. exp Postoperative Complications/
  16. exp Intraoperative Complications/
  17. or/1-16

Embase adverse effects strategy

  1. (ae or si or to or co).fs.
  2. (safe or safety).ti,ab.
  3. side effect$.ti,ab.
  4. ((adverse or undesirable or harm$ or serious or toxic) adj3 (effect$ or reaction$ or event$ or outcome$)).ti,ab.
  5. exp adverse drug reaction/
  6. exp drug toxicity/
  7. exp intoxication/
  8. exp drug safety/
  9. exp drug monitoring/
  10. exp drug hypersensitivity/
  11. exp postmarketing surveillance/
  12. exp drug surveillance program/
  13. exp phase iv clinical trial/
  14. (toxicity or complication$ or noxious or tolerability).ti,ab.
  15. exp postoperative complication/
  16. exp Peroperative Complication/
  17. or/1-16

Content created by BMJ Knowledge Centre

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References

  1. PubMed Special Queries: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/special_queries.html (last accessed 9 March 2017).
  2. The InterTASC Information Specialists' Sub-Group (ISSG) Search Filters Resource: https://sites.google.com/a/york.ac.uk/issg-search-filters-resource/ (last accessed 9 March 2017).

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