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Cited by 647Meta-analysis and systematic reviewsHealth Sciences Research and EducationMethodologies in Health Research and Practice

Searching for and selecting studies

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Lefebvre, Carol, Glanville, Julie, Briscoe, Simon, Littlewood, Anne, Marshall, Chris, Metzendorf, Maria‐Inti, Noel‐Storr, Anna, Rader, Tamara +4 more·2019·Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions
DOI 10.1002/9781119536604.ch4
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Abstract

This chapter outlines some general issues in searching for studies; describes the main sources of potential studies; and discusses how to plan the search process, design and carry out search strategies, manage references found during the search process, correctly document the search process and select studies from the search results. It provides advice and guidance for medical/healthcare librarians and information specialists (within and beyond Cochrane) involved in the search process to identify studies for inclusion in systematic reviews. For review authors, alerts are a useful tool to help monitor what is being published in their review topic after the original search has been conducted. By following the alert, authors can become aware of a new study that meets the review's eligibility criteria, and decide either to include it in the review immediately or mention it as a ‘study awaiting assessment’ for inclusion during the next review update.

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Authors
Lefebvre, C., Glanville, J., Briscoe, S., Littlewood, A., Marshall, C., Metzendorf, M., Noel‐Storr, A., Rader, T., Shokraneh, F., Thomas, J., Wieland, L. S., & on behalf of the Cochrane Information Retrieval Methods Group
ORCID
Venue
Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2019-09-20
Pages
67-107
DOI
10.1002/9781119536604.ch4
OpenAlex
W2974858420
Semantic Scholar
5dd8573aba428e9294ef63da6ee3bcc9b1ddc2a9
Cited by
647
References
108
Citations by year
2026: 64 · 2025: 82 · 2024: 100 · 2023: 75 · 2022: 83 · 2021: 129 · 2020: 100 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 1 · 2012: 1
Type
other
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (submittedVersion)
  • Newcastle University ePrints (Newcastle Univesity)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Sciences Research and Education
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Health Information Management › Methodologies in Health Research and Practice
Keywords
literature search strategies, systematic reviews, study selection, search alerts, citation management, eligibility criteria, Cochrane Collaboration, medical librarians, information professionals

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