Conferences
Why search for conferences?
Conference abstracts and proceedings can potentially point you to relevant trials and research, identify the latest research trends, and provide useful information not reported elsewhere.
'Over one-half of trials reported in conference abstracts never reach full publication (Diezel et al 1999, Scherer et al 2018) and those that are eventually published in full have been shown to have results that are systematically different from those that are never published in full (Scherer et al 2018)... It is, therefore, important to try to identify possibly relevant studies reported in conference abstracts...'
Finding conferences, abstracts and proceedings
When you are developing your search strategy for conference materials, remember that you will need to record and report how you searched, where you searched, and what you found.
See the table below for some tips on finding conference materials.
| Search tips | Examples |
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If you know the name of the conference:
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If you know the name of the host organisation:
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If you don't know any relevant conferences:
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"biomedical engineering" conferences |
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If you can't find any conferences:
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conference / meeting / symposium / seminar / colloquia / congress / convention / roundtable |
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If you are searching in databases or portals:
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Searching for older material
Conference material can be challenging to locate, as conference websites are often decommissioned after a period of time. To locate older conference material, try using the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. The Wayback Machine provides access to more than billions of web pages saved at different points in time, allowing you to find and view webpages that are no longer available. If the conference was held in Australia or related to Australia in some way, you could also search the National Library of Australia's Trove for archived web pages.
- Wayback Machine (Internet Archive)Access archived versions of websites, including older versions of existing sites and sites no longer available
- Trove - Websites (National Library of Australia)Access archived websites 'relevant to the cultural, social, political, research and commercial life and activities of Australia and Australians' - Websites Category, Trove
Many Library databases index conference papers, including those linked below. For those that cover varied publication types, there are usually limits you can select such as 'Conference Paper' if you want to find these only.
- ACM Digital Library (Association for Computing Machinery)Access a wide range of material relating to computing, including journals, conference proceedings, technical magazines, newsletters and books. Extend your search beyond material published by the ACM by selecting The ACM Guide to Computing Literature
- APA PsycExtra (via Ovid)'...gray literature database relating to psychology, behavioral sciences, and health. Full-text is available for the majority of records...consists primarily of material written for professionals but disseminated outside of peer-reviewed journals' - Database Guide
- Conference Proceedings Citation Index (via Web of Science)Find publications from significant conferences, symposia, seminars, colloquia, workshops, and conventions around the world, dating 1990-present. Split into two editions - Science (CPCI-S) and Social Science & Humanities (CPCI-SSH) - which can be searched separately or together
- Embase (via Ovid)A large biomedical database with especially good coverage of pharmacology literature and European sources. Journals covered from 1947 and conference abstracts from 2009. Indexed with Emtree thesaurus terms. If searching MEDLINE for a systematic review, it is recommended to also search Embase. From Dec. 2021 includes preprints added to MedRXiv and BioRXiv (not retrospective).
- IEEE Xplore (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)Discover scientific and technical content relating to electrical engineering, computer science and electronics. Includes access to journals, conference papers, technical standards and books published by the IEEE and its publishing partners
- Databases via the Informit interfaceIf you are looking for material focused on the Australian context, Informit provides access to many databases covering a range of material including journal articles, conference proceedings, and reports which may not be idexed elsewhere
- ScopusOne of the largest multidisciplinary bibliographic databases, Scopus covers peer reviewed journals, trade journals, books and book chapters, conference papers and patents. Material chosen for inclusion meets strict selection criteria such as type of peer review and significance to the field. Also provides backward and forward citation searching, publication metrics and analytical features.
- Sociological Abstracts (via ProQuest)Provides descriptive information for the international literature in sociology and related disciplines, covering journal articles, book reviews, books, theses and conference papers 1952-current. Major areas of coverage include culture and social structure, history and theory of sociology, inequality, social change and social problems
Many organisations, institutes and professional associations/societies hold conferences and make content available online. You can search for these by running a web search on the organisation or conference name.
You can also explore external catalogues and portals, for example:
- Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNetA hub for information and resources relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, managed by Edith Cowan University
- Trove (National Library of Australia)Search across the collections of Australian cultural institutions such as libraries, galleries, archives and museums for a wide variety of material including books, theses, reports, images, maps, conference proceedings, archived websites, historical newspapers and more
- Wayback Machine (Internet Archive)Access archived versions of websites, including older versions of existing sites and sites no longer available
Guidelines and standards
- Cochrane Handbook, part 2, chapter 4.3.5: Other sources
This section provide details on searching for other sources, including conference abstracts and proceedings.
'If journals or conference proceedings were consulted, specify the names of each source, the dates covered and how they were searched (such as handsearching or browsing online).' - PRISMA 2020 Explanation and Elaboration, p. 6
Further reading
- Full publication of results initially presented in abstractsScherer, RW, Meerpohl, JJ, Pfeifer, N, Schmucker, C, Schwarzer, G & von Elm, E 2018, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, DOI: 10.1002/14651858.MR000005.pub4.
- Grey literature in meta-analyses of randomized trials of health care interventionsHopewell, S, McDonald, S, Clarke, M & Egger, M 2007, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Apr 18, no. 2.