Reporting search results

There are a number of places where searches can be reported. These include the appendix, the review abstract, the methods section or the results section.

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 which lists the full search strings used for each database in the appendix.

Kirchin, V., Page, T., Keegan, P.E., Atiemo, K. O. M., Cody, J. D., McClinton, S., & Aluko, P. (2017). Urethral injection therapy for urinary incontinence in women. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD003881.pub4

A systematic review which provides a summary of sources searched and keywords used (under 'Sources').

McIntyre, S., Taitz, D., Keogh, J., Goldsmith, S., Badawi, N., & Blair, E. (2012). A systematic review of risk factors for cerebral palsy in children born at term in developing countries. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 55(6), 499-508. https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.12017

Reference management software such as EndNote can be used to store, manage, organise, search and reference literature found during the search portion of the systematic review and can also be useful in managing the process of the systematic review more holistically.

Features of EndNote:

• Groups - manually create groups of references according to your own requirements.
• Smart Groups - set up criteria for a group which will then be automatically populated.
• Labels - implement a series of labels for your library.
• Note taking - fields such as Research Notes and Notes offer the ability to store notes within an EndNote record.
• Custom fields - Create custom EndNote fields which are automatically added to each EndNote record. For example, you might like to create a custom field for the members of your review team to sign off when including and excluding studies.
• Record numbers - each new record added to an EndNote library will be assigned a record number, unique to that record. 
• Attaching PDFs/full text - attach or link PDFs and other documents to an EndNote record. Useful for linking the full text document.
• Searching your EndNote library - easily search your entire EndNote library, or particular fields in your library.
• Display fields - choose which fields are displayed as default in your library window.
• Sharing your EndNote library - share your library with the rest of your review team and other collaborators.

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 an organizational subscription to Covidence. 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.