Literature searching

Tools

Literature Search Plan (361KB) - this guide will help you to develop a literature search strategy by considering the key concepts and scope of your topic.

Literature searching overview and action plan (127KB) - introducing the 9 steps to successful literature searching and helping you to plan your own search

Use these tools to help you to identify your question and complete your literature search more effectively; complete the relevant worksheet to help you to breakdown your question:

• 6ws tool worksheet (MSWord, 14kb) - you can use this tool for any type of question
• sari tool worksheet (MSWord, 15kb) - this tool is particularly helpful for essay-type assignments
• pico tool worksheet (MSWord, 15kb) - use this tool to help you to identify the clinical question
• clip question tool worksheet (MSWord, 186kb) - use this tool to help you to breakdown questions about health service management issues
• eclipse tool worksheet (MSWord, 186kb)- use this tool to help you to breakdown questions about health service management issues
• spice tool worksheet (MSWord, 186kb) - use this tool to help you to breakdown questions about social science issues

MeSH on Demand - tool from Pubmed to help you to generate Medical Subject Headings (or thesaurus terms) from your queries.

Pubmed Search Strategies Blog - suggests keywords, Mesh terms and combinations to use in searches on Pubmed for a wide range of conditions and patient groups.

Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) Systematic Reviews: CRD’s guidance for undertaking reviews in health care - overview of systematic review methods, includes a section on documenting the search process.

Prisma Statement - Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis, consists of a 27 item check list and 4-phase flow diagram indicating how to report a systematic review.

eTutorials

Check your skills - assess your own literature searching skills and find out how you can improve them

Introduction to literature searching - complete our tutorial to learn how to construct your literature search plan

Literature searching flashcards - get a quick overview of the key steps you need to develop your literature search plan

Information Skills - find more tutorials to help you to develop your information skills and learn to search effectively

How to search the literature effectively - programme on the eLearning for Health Hub (eLfH), in partnership with HEE; designed to help the healthcare workforce (clinical and non-clinical) build confidence to search published literature for articles and evidence

Online Guides

See our blog, Information Skills for Health, for a range of articles to help you get to grip with literature searching:

Be Search Smart - series of articles introducing all the different elements of literature searching as well as hints as to how the Health Library can help you.