Library Guides: Evidence-based practice: Database limits for EBP

EBP in databases

In evidence-based practice searches, the goal is to find the most relevant and high-quality evidence to answer a specific clinical question. Database limits help narrow down search results to the most relevant studies, making the search process more efficient and help clinicians quickly find high-level evidence that is directly applicable to their clinical question.

Note: Whilst database limits might be appropriate as a search tool for clinical questions in evidence-based practice, they are not generally recommended for comprehensive and exploratory searching for projects such as systematic or scoping reviews.

Commonly used limits or filters in evidence-based practice

Publication type (e.g., randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses)

Language (e.g., English)

Date range (e.g., last 5 years)

Population (e.g., human studies)

Limits and filters by database

Medline (Ovid)	General Language Date range Population > Human, Sex, Age Groups Clinical Queries Additional limits > Clinical Queries > Select from: Reviews, therapy, diagnosis, prognosis, causation-etiology, economics, clinical prediction guides, qualitative, costs. Publication Type Additional Limits > Publication Types > Select from: Adaptive Clinical Trial, Clinical Study, Clinical Trial, All, Clinical Trial, Phase I - IV, Controlled Clinical Trial, Randomized Controlled Trial Special Limits > Evidence Based Medicine Reviews
Embase (Ovid)	General Language Date range Population > Human, Sex, Human Age Groups Clinical Queries Additional Limits > Clinical Queries > Select from: Reviews, therapy, diagnosis, prognosis, causation-etiology, economics, qualitative. Clinical Trials Additional Limits > Clinical Trials > Select from options
CINAHL	General Language Date range Population > Human, Sex, Age Groups Clinical Queries Limits > Select from: Therapy, prognosis, review, qualitative, causation Publication type Select from: Evidence-Based Care Sheet, Randomized Controlled Trial, Systematic Review Special Interest Evidence-Based Practice Browse Evidence-Based Care Sheets (top menu)
Emcare (Ovid)	General Language Date range Population > Human, Sex, Human Age Groups EBM-Evidence Based Medicine Additional limits > EBM-Evidence Based Medicine > Select from: Evidence Based Medicine, Consensus Development, Meta Analysis, Outcomes Research, Systematic Review Clinical Trials Additional limits > Clinical Trials > Select from: Clinical trial, Randomized Controlled Trial, Controlled Clinical Trial, Multicenter Study, Phase 1, 2, 3, 4 Clinical Trial Clinical Queries Additional limits > Clinical Queries > Select from: Reviews, Therapy, Diagnosis, Causation-Etiology, Economics, Qualitative
PsycInfo (Ovid)	General Language Date range Population > Human, Age Groups, Population Groups Clinical Queries Additional Limits > Clinical Queries > Select from: Reviews, Therapy, Qualitative Methodology Additional LImitis > Methodology > Select from a range of options