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Systematic Reviews for STEMM

An introduction to Systematic Reviews

Why would you need this?

Often reviews are updated and provided the full search strategy is available, it is relatively easy to run the searches again FROM the date they were last run to current.

Updating a Review - Resources

  • Higgins JPT, Thomas J, Chandler J, Cumpston M, Li T, Page MJ, Welch VA (editors). Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions version 6.4 (updated August 2023). Cochrane, 2023. Chapter 4: Updating a review
     
  • PRISMA 2020 flow diagram for updated systematic reviews which included searches of databases, registers and other sources Link
     
  • Garner, P., Hopewell, S., Chandler, J., MacLehose, H., Akl, E. A., Beyene, J., ... & Schünemann, H. J. (2016). When and how to update systematic reviews: consensus and checklist. BMJ, 354. PDF
     
  • Covidence - How to update a review with new studies This is related to adding further studies to a Covidence workspace so not necessarily related to updating the search.

Updating a search by date

When performing a search update it is recommended that you backdate the start date by one week to ensure you capture all content.

Database and platform
Details
Example
Medline (Ovid)

limit x to dt=YYYYMMDD-YYYYMMDD

x = the number of the final search row

Create date (.dt.) is the date when the record was created

limit 20 to dt=20200101-20231231

Limits line 20 to between
January 1st 2020 to December 31st 2023

Embase and Emcare (Ovid)

limit x to dc=YYYYMMDD-YYYYMMDD

x = the number of the final search row

.dc. is the date created

limit 20 to dc=20200101-20231231

Limits line 20 to between
January 1st 2020 to December 31st 2023

PsycInfo (Ovid)

limit x to up=YYYYMMDD-YYYYMMDD

x = the number of the final search row

up =  the date the record was released into the database.

 

limit 20 to up=20200101-20231231

Limits line 20 to between
January 1st 2020 to December 31st 2023

EBM Reviews : Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Ovid)
 

limit x to up=YYYYMM-YYYYMM

x = the number of the final search row

up =  the date the record was released into the database.

limit 20 to up=202001-202312

Limits line 20 to between
January 1st 2020 to December 31st 2023

CINAHL (Ebsco)

AND the last line of your search with EM YYYYMMDD

 

 

AND the last line of your search with EM YYYYMMDD-YYYYMMDD

 

S20 AND EM 20200101-

Limits line 20 to after January 1st 2020

 

S20 AND EM 20200101-20231231

Limits line 20 to between
January 1st 2020 to December 31st 2023

Scopus

AND the last line of your search with

ORIG-LOAD-DATE AFT YYYYMMDD

ORIG-LOAD-DATE AFT 20200101

will return all documents that have been added or reprocessed in Scopus after January 1st 2020

Web of Science

AND the last line of your search with

LD=(YYYY-MM-DD/YYYY-MM-DD)

Index Date: 2017-11-15 to 2020-10-09

LD=(2017-11-15/2020-10-09)
Limits results to between 15th Nov. 2017-9th Oct. 2020

 

 


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