Systematic Reviews: Run your search on other databases

• Create draft / master search in MEDLINE (Ovid)
• Share strategy with yourself via Email All Search History option

• Copy keyword lines from plain text section of Ovid email and save in plain text editor such as Notepad (PC) or TextEdit (Mac)
• This will be your master keyword file - these are the keywords that you will use across every database (including those without subject headings, such as Scopus)

• Copy MEDLINE subject headings into a MeSH column
• Create columns for all other relevant thesauri e.g. Emtree (Embase, Emcare) and APA (PsycInfo)
• You may find a notes column for each thesaurus helpful

• Search for subject headings for each concept as you did for MEDLINE
• You may find that the heading is the same, slightly different, a synonym, or not available as a subject heading in this thesaurus
• Beware that exploding subject headings may find a different set of narrower terms in the new database

• Add equivalent and new subject headings to the spreadsheet
• Revisit your previous databases and check if newly discovered subject headings have equivalents

• Update keyword lines in master keyword file with newly discovered terms (e.g from Emtree scope notes, or new subject headings)
• Create new plain text file with subject headings for that database, master keyword lines, and line combinations (e.g. 3 AND 7)

• There are instructions on how to use the launcher on the Top tools and techniques page

• Log in to MEDLINE and run your search.
• Then select Change under the Search Tools box.

• A new window will appear, listing the range of Ovid databases.
• Select one of the databases to search (eg Embase) and then select Run Search.
• Ovid will now run your search on this new database, ready for you to check and correct.

• Your subject heading lines can be identified by the presence of a forward slash / after the term, see below.
  
  
   
• You will need to check any MeSH to ensure that they have mapped across correctly. To do this:
  • Look up each term without the forward slash (e.g. enter back pain not back pain/).
  • • You may find that the heading is the same, slightly different, a synonym, or not available as a subject heading in this thesaurus.
  • Check the scope note (i icon on right) to establish that headings cover the same ideas as the original MeSH.
    
    
     
• Select the subject heading hyperlink to view the subject hierarchy - you may identify additional related or nested terms.

Note: Emcare and Embase share the same subject headings, so if you have run your search on Embase, you can rerun it on Emcare without any changes.

• Keyword lines will not have a forward slash/ and will end in a field code such as .mp, which is the default code in Ovid.

• ​When remapping searches to different Ovid databases, you do not generally need to change your keyword lines.
• You may, however, choose to change your field codes. E.g. to search across title, abstract and author-supplied fields in MEDLINE you would use .tw,kf. To search those same fields in Embase, you would need to change this to .ti,ab,kw.

• When you have identified the correct subject headings for this database, you need to edit your search by selecting More > Edit.
  
  
   
• Replace the term with the new subject heading, being sure to add the forward slash after the term (eg Backache/)
• Run the search 
• Save your search as a new copy. Include the database name in the title (eg Search: Embase version)

• If you discover additional relevant subject headings, you can add these to your search. Just be sure to:
  • Revisit your previous databases and check if the term (or a similar subject heading) appears.
  • If so, add it to those searches too, and correct your combination lines.
  • Regardless, update the keyword line to include the new term for all databases.

• If the subject headings are too broad or are not relevant, remove that subject heading line from your search. Be sure to correct your combination lines.
• Remember the aim is to cover the same search scope as your master MEDLINE search.

In the Cochrane Library, you need to build your search with Search manager:

• Select the Search manager tab, then go to Advanced Search > Search manager
• Select the MeSH button and add in your subject headings from MEDLINE. These will be the same terms as both interfaces use MeSH.
  
  
   
• If you used the explode option on any subject headings in Ovid, you will need to do the same in Cochrane.

After adding each subject heading line, you need to add the corresponding keyword line.

• Go back to the Search manager tab.
• Start adding in your keyword string in line #2.
• Add double quotes around all phrases that do not contain a truncation or wildcard symbol (eg "back pain")
• For those phrases that do contain a truncation or wildcard symbol, add NEXT between the words and brackets around it instead (eg cardio* NEXT disease).

• If a truncated phrase contains an AND/OR/NOT, put this in double quotes (eg mother? NEXT "and" NEXT bab*)
• When combining your subject heading lines and keyword lines, include the # before the numbers for your combination lines (eg #1 or #2)

Note: If you used proximity/adjacency symbols (ie in MEDLINE adj3 etc), you'll need to change these to near/3 .