Search Strategy s1

Search Strategy

Systematic reviews aim to locate, select and appraise as much as possible of the research relevant to the particular review question(s). The methods used to find studies (database searches, searches of specialist bibliographies, hand-searching of likely journals, attempts to track down unpublished research) need to be reported in some detail. Exhaustive literature searches of published and unpublished studies are conducted to ensure that the review results have taken into account all the available evidence and are based on best quality contributions. The search should identify all relevant studies and can cover a range of different types of information (academic articles, books, practitioner materials, working papers, the Internet etc).

The search generally commences with a search of citation databases using search strings, grouping keywords and applying search conventions. • Simple operators include: – Truncation characters – ‘*’, ‘?’; e.g. team? - searches for documents which contain the term team, teams, teamwork, teamworking etc – Word association – ‘w’ or ‘near’; e.g. high(w)reliability; high(near)reliability – Exact phrase – ‘ ‘, “ “; e.g. ‘high reliability’; “high reliability” • Boolean Logic includes: – OR e.g. team* OR group* searches for either term in a document – AND e.g. ‘high reliability’ AND organi*ation searches for both terms in a document – AND NOT e.g. team* AND NOT virtual* searches for documents which contain the term team, teams, teamwork, teamworking but not virtual • By combining Boolean operators with parentheses complex searches can be constructed:- – ‘high reliability’ AND (team* OR group*) AND NOT virtual Significant time is needed to be spent on constructing the search strings, for this investment can improve the efficiency of the search. It is important to note that different citation databases use different search conventions.

There is a common misconception that systematic reviews only involve electronic database searches. However, Greenhalgh and Peacock (2005) have argued that in systematic reviews which address complex questions database searching can often account for as little as 30% of the total number of relevant articles. Therefore, a systematic search should always comprise of several methods including: searching electronic databases, hand searching known journals, recommendations from experts and cross-referencing. In addition to academic papers reviewers need to consider articles in non-peer reviewed journals, books, databases, websites, conference papers, seminars, workshops, technical reports and discussion papers and other ‘grey literature’. The decision whether or not to search these data sources is dependent on the field and the evidence available. In nascent and fast moving fields much of the evidence might reside in working papers. As with other aspects of the review the choices made by the reviewer should be made explicit.

The output of the search is a complete listing of articles and papers (core contributions) which help address the review questions. To aid information management citation management software packages, such as Endnote or Refworks, can be used to accurately store information. What sources of information will be included?

Please give details of potential sources of information under the categories provided.

Information type Details

Journals not cited in the databases Conference papers Books Working papers or unpublished papers Documents on the internet Personal requests to knowledgeable researchers and/or practitioners Reports from relevant institutions: companies, public bodies etc Literature reviews Others…

Please list the search strings that will be used in the review.

Please state which search engines will be used in the review (include justification – see example below). Please explain your choices.

Greenhalgh and Peacock (2005) have demonstrated the limitations of search strategies that solely focus on citation databases. For complex questions a systematic search should always use several methods including: searching electronic databases, hand- searching known journals, seeking recommendations from experts and cross- referencing.

Please state how you will locate studies in the systematic review: