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Search Filters for Various Databases

This resource has search filters for different study types organized by interface and database. Make sure you choose the correct one! For example, you can't use the Ovid Medline interface to search PubMed!

CINAHL

To use the filter, run your search in Ebsco CINAHL and then copy and paste the text from the search.  Add it to the last line of your search strategy.

If you are trying to locate prior systematic reviews: If you don't find anything when you use the SR filter, consider removing a concept from your search strategy, i.e. make it broader.  In the search example to the right, combinations of concepts are used to identify potential SRs as well as clinical trials studies. The rationale for doing it like is that authors don't always describe in their titles or abstracts exactly what they've done so we have to sometimes broaden the search a bit to ensure nothing is missed.

    • Case-control studies (12/4/2012)
      (MH "Case Control Studies+") or (MH "Control Group") or (MH "Matched-Pair Analysis") or (TI (case or cases) n5 TI (control or controls)) OR (AB (case or cases) n5 AB (control or controls)) OR  (TI (case or cases) n3 TI (matched)) OR (AB (case or cases) n3 AB (matched)) OR TI (control group*)
    • Cohort studies
      cohort[TIAB] OR Cohort Studies[Mesh] OR longitudinal[TIAB] OR prospective[TIAB] OR retrospective[TIAB]
    • Cross sectional studies
      Cross-Sectional Studies[Mesh] OR “cross-sectional”[TIAB] OR “prevalence study”[tiab]
      • Many authors do not indicate that their study is a cross-sectional in either the title or abstract, nor are the articles marked with the appropriate MeSH terms. This search will locate only those that have been identified appropriately by the author.
    • Clinical trials (Not done yet)
    • Epidemiological studies (Not done yet)
    • Qualitative studies (Not done yet)
    • Systematic Reviews/Meta-Analyses (8/8/2014)
      • (TI (systematic* n3 review*)) or (AB (systematic* n3 review*)) or (TI (systematic* n3 bibliographic*)) or (AB (systematic* n3 bibliographic*)) or (TI (systematic* n3 literature)) or (AB (systematic* n3 literature)) or (TI (comprehensive* n3 literature)) or (AB (comprehensive* n3 literature)) or (TI (comprehensive* n3 bibliographic*)) or (AB (comprehensive* n3 bibliographic*)) or (TI (integrative n3 review)) or (AB (integrative n3 review)) or (JN “Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews”) or (TI (information n2 synthesis)) or (TI (data n2 synthesis)) or (AB (information n2 synthesis)) or (AB (data n2 synthesis)) or (TI (data n2 extract*)) or (AB (data n2 extract*)) or (TI (medline or pubmed or psyclit or cinahl or (psycinfo not “psycinfo database”) or “web of science” or scopus or embase)) or (AB (medline or pubmed or psyclit or cinahl or (psycinfo not “psycinfo database”) or “web of science” or scopus or embase)) or (MH “Systematic Review”) or (MH “Meta Analysis”) or (TI (meta-analy* or metaanaly*)) or (AB (meta-analy* or metaanaly*))
      • Just meta-analyses (12/4/2012)
        (MH “Meta Analysis”) or (TI (meta-analy* or metaanaly*)) or (AB (meta-analy* or metaanaly*))
    • Program evaluation (Not done yet)
    • Consensus statements/guidelines (Not done yet)
    • Vaccines (Not done yet)
      Breast cancer (Not done yet)