Systematic Reviews: How to search

The next step is to decide where and how you will search for evidence to answer your systematic review question.

Move through the slide deck below to learn how to search. Alternatively, download the PDF document at the bottom of this box.

Select the links below to learn how to conduct your search, using our real-time search tutorials:

This tutorial will demonstrate how to correctly translate your PICO breakdown into a MEDLINE search.

This tutorial demonstrates how to correctly remap your MEDLINE search to another Ovid database.

This tutorial shows you how to remap your MEDLINE search to the Cochrane Library and databases therein.

‘If the search strategy was peer reviewed, report the peer review process used and specify any tool used, such as the Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies (PRESS) checklist.’ - PRISMA 2020 Explanation and Elaboration, p. 7

Other standards

To share your Ovid search with colleagues, you can use the Ovid Search Launcher to run your search in any Ovid database.

Simply paste a plain text version of your search strategy or search history into the search launcher and select the database you want to search. Then select Submit to run your search in your selected database.

The following sections of this guide explore the process of systematic searching in more detail. Select the links below to go to the relevant page.