Managing search strategies and results

Standards for reporting systematic reviews are becoming more stringent although what should be included has not been fully defined. Additionally, authors are hampered by the lack of space for describing their search strategies and results by publishers who limit the number of words and/or pages of articles. This session will introduce participants to guidelines for reporting and offer suggestions for best practices. A workbook designed specifically for systematic reviews will be demonstrated. Its purpose is provide a single system for all data needed for reporting each search including: the database searched, the interface, the developer of the search, the date searched, the search strategy used, number of items found, and number of duplicates. The workbook is also designed to include non-database methods of searching such as citation tracking and searching in bibliographies of relevant articles. There are two worksheets to record the number of items excluded by eligibility criteria. Lastly, a PRISMA-styled flowchart tracks all of the data through the process. The last part of the presentation will introduce the concept of a protocol for tracking results from the beginning of the search process through the final screening of full text of articles using citation management software. This protocol is not software-specific, but rather can serve as a model regardless of the citation management software in use by the participant.