5. Steps
Identify a problem
Formulate a research question
Define inclusion and exclusion criteria
Locate studies (Literature review)
Form a systematic review team
Select Studies
Assess quality of studies
Perform data analysis
Present results
Perform data analysis and synthesis of
relevant studies
11. Select studies
Stage 1.
Reviewers look only at
the title, abstract and
keywords.
Stage 2:
Reviewers read the full text of
each article to make final
inclusion/exclusion decision.
Thus, two independent
reviews of all articles are
needed to determine which
articles will be included.
26. How to
chose a
electronic
data base
• According to your subject area (Life sciences, social
sciences, humanities, agriculture, etc…)
• According to availability:
Open access (Pubmed)
University login:OVID, EbscoHost,
Web of Science
Other : Professional associations
29. Can I just
search Google
Scholar?
• Google Scholar (GS) lacks a controlled
vocabulary
• GS cannot store search histories, and it is not
possible to combine searches or evaluate
changes made to search queries.
• Wildcards and limits (for instance study types)
cannot be used precisely.
• Only the first 1,000 citations of any search in
GS are viewable and search strings must be
kept under 256 characters.
• GS does not allow to download results in bulk
to reference management software.
30. Identify topic scope – words
and concepts
• What are the factors
affecting the quality of
undergraduate medical
curriculum?
• Factors , indicators ,
Markers
• Quality , standards
• Curriculum , Syllabus ,
Course
33. A well-designed search strategy consists of a
combination of keywords and controlled vocabulary
search terms.
Keywords are “natural language”
words describing your topic.The
search engine looks for keywords
anywhere in the record (title, author
name, abstract, journal name..)
often returns many irrelevant
results.
A controlled vocabulary is a
standardized set of terms used by a
database to categorize articles
based on the content. Using terms
from a database’s controlled
vocabulary retrieves more relevant
articles.
34. HOW TO COMBINE MESH TERMS AND KEYWORD: USE THE
LOGICAL OPERATORS (AND, OR, NOT)
35. Logical operators: the
easy one - AND
‘and’ looks for articles containing both terms
and it narrows the search
37. Logical operators: the
difficult one - NOT
• Excludes terms from the search
• Looks for articles containing “Africa”, excludes those containing “Asia”
• Watch out because you will eliminate records which include both terms
Syllabus not Assessment
38. Other searching
techniques :
limits (or filters)
• Many databases allow you to
“limit” your search in different
ways, thus refining the search and
reducing the number of results.
• Limits are usually available on
advanced search screens, or you
can apply them after doing your
keyword search.
39.
40. AFTER YOU HAVE RUN THE SEARCH:
WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR SEARCH
RESULTS
41. In a Nut Shell….. 1. Select search terms and
sources of information
2. Run searches and manage
search results
3. Report your search
4. Prepare a bibliography for
your article/thesis
Stage 1
Based on these components, if both the reviewers are convinced that the publication is ineligible, the article is excluded. In case there is insufficient information to decide, the article can advance to Stage 2. If reviewers disagree about the inclusion of an article, it is better to take it to Stage 2, based on the rationale that it is better to assess using the full text rather than abstract
Stage 2
If the reviewers disagree at Stage 2, another team member may be included to assess the article and consensus must be reached. This is the stage at which concise recording of decision-making is needed to ensure transparency.
Stage 1
Based on these components, if both the reviewers are convinced that the publication is ineligible, the article is excluded. In case there is insufficient information to decide, the article can advance to Stage 2. If reviewers disagree about the inclusion of an article, it is better to take it to Stage 2, based on the rationale that it is better to assess using the full text rather than abstract
Stage 2
If the reviewers disagree at Stage 2, another team member may be included to assess the article and consensus must be reached. This is the stage at which concise recording of decision-making is needed to ensure transparency.
