Health Sciences: Literature searching

Ovid
Use an Ovid ..ps command
Conduct a complete search in an Ovid database and in the end write ..ps in the search field and the search history is shown.

Or click on



Search filters are a supplement to filters in databases. In some databases they can be insufficient or not containing what users might expect.
A search filter is a search string which can capture specific study types or specific topics.

Be aware of the fact that the use of these search filters may result in excluding relevant studies (Cooper, Varley-Campbell & Carter, 2019;. Leeflang, Rutjes, Reitsma & Bossuyt, 2006). Therefore, it is advisible to evaluate the filters before using them (Glanville et al., 2008).
Pay attention on factors such as sensitivity and precision when choosing a search filter (Beale et al., 2014).

We recommend using the search filters from the websites below.

References on search filters:

Beale, S., Duffy, S., Glanville, J., Lefebvre, C., Wright, D., McCool, R., . . . Smith, L. (2014). Choosing and using methodological search filters: searchers' views. Health Info Libr J, 31(2), 133-147. doi:10.1111/hir.12062

Cooper, C., Varley-Campbell, J., & Carter, P. (2019). Established search filters may miss studies when identifying randomized controlled trials. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 112, 12-19. doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2019.04.002

Glanville, J., Bayliss, S., Booth, A., Dundar, Y., Fernandes, H., Fleeman, N. D., . . . Welch, K. (2008). So many filters, so little time: the development of a search filter appraisal checklist. J Med Libr Assoc, 96(4), 356-361. doi: 10.3163/1536-5050.96.4.011.

Leeflang, M. M., Scholten, R. J., Rutjes, A. W., Reitsma, J. B., & Bossuyt, P. M. (2006). Use of methodological search filters to identify diagnostic accuracy studies can lead to the omission of relevant studies. J Clin Epidemiol, 59(3), 234-240. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2005.07.014.

Covidence
The University Library of Southern Denmark offers employees and students at SDU, as well as employees at OUH, access to the software platform Covidence, which can be used for sorting and screening literature, quality assessment and data extraction in connection with systematic reviews.
See the guidance below for access.

Copyright
We advise you NOT to upload documents licensed from the SDU library to Covidence. It might be illegal due to copyright regulations.
Be aware that you are not allowed to share licensed documents with persons, not employed at SDU or OUH, or SDU students.