There are several software packages available which provide guidance and management of the systematic review process. You may like to consider using one of these to streamline the process of your review.

• UWA has taken out an organizational subscription to Covidence for a pilot period running from July 2023 - December 2024. Sign up with your UWA email address to be added to the UWA Covidence subscription.

• UWA staff and students have access to JBI's SUMARI software through our institutional subscription to the Joanna Briggs Institute EBP database. 

• Rayyan is a web tool, that can be used to create systematic reviews with easy collaboration within your Systematic Review team. It is also available as a mobile app.

  

You may also want to consult the Systematic Review Toolbox - a community-driven and searchable catalogue of tools that support the systematic review process across multiple domains (including Cochrane's tools). The focus of the Toolbox is on identifying software tools to support systematic reviews, however other tools or support mechanisms (such as checklists, guidelines and reporting standards) can also be found.

Documenting your search

The search strategy you use for your Systematic or Scoping Review should be documented in detail and included as part of the published review. The search strategy for one database usually Ovid Medline should be reported in the registered or published protocol before beginning the rest of the review process., in order to limit bias and allow critique and reproducibility. You should record:

• the name of the database/resources used; eg Medline
• the name of the database platform used eg Ovid
• the search string used in each database/resource including keywords, subject headings, any database syntax used and how these were combined and the results per line searched
• the number of results returned in each database/resource;
• the date on which you ran the search;
• any limits you applied (e.g. language, publication date range).

We advise that you save your searches in each database where possible so that you can refer back to them later.

Ideally, as well as describing the search strategy in the methodology section of your review (or as an Appendix to the review) these results will then form a part of the PRISMA flow diagram which is included in your review.

Examples of documented and published search strategies

• A Cochrane review in which the full search strings for each database is listed as an appendix (p. 64-67).
• A systematic review published in Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology which provides a summary of sources searched and keywords used (under Sources).