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Systematic reviews - searching for literature: Example search in Medline

Example search

What does the diagram explain?

Once you know how to run a search correctly, when you review a search history undertaken by someone else, you should understand the different parts that make up that search and the different tools used by the searcher  (see example search). This search contains:

  • Two facets
  • Keyword searches (title and abstract)
  • Subject heading searches (expanded and non expanded)
  • OR and AND operators
  • Numbers of results
  • Date limiter

It is in essence a fairly simple search and benefits from a focused question and contained set of relevant literature. The UTI facet is grouped in S11 and the cranberry facet is grouped in S12. These two cumulative sets are overlapped in S13.