Evidence Synthesis in the Social Sciences

Want a deeper dive into search strategy creation and translation? 

Check out our page on search strategies for top databases. 

It's important to keep careful records of the finalized search strategy that you create, along with the results that that strategy yields in each database you search. After you run your finalized search strategy in each database, you must save all the results in a reference management system for later screening. Keep records of how many sources are produced from each search, as you will need to complete a flow chart of your sources and information later in the screening process. 

From PRISMA (2020): 

"Specify all databases, registers, websites, organisations, reference lists, and other sources searched or consulted to identify studies. Specify the date when each source was last searched or consulted." p.5

"Present the full search strategies for all databases, registers, and websites, including any filters and limits used." p. 6

"Describe the results of the search and selection process, from the number of records identified in the search to the number of studies included in the review, ideally using a flow diagram."  p. 18

There are many elements to crafting a comprehensive search strategy. Searching requires: 

1) Knowledge of databases being searched 

2) Understanding of boolean operators, search truncation, proximity searching, and resource fields

3) Understanding of index terms and keywords

Helpful Resources to Get You Started: