How to write a search strategy
Use caseA search strategy is the databases, the date, and the exact string. A box of keywords is not a strategy.
What do I actually do?
List the concepts from the question. Add the synonyms. Name the indexes. For a biomedical question, PubMed with MeSH is still the index you name. Save the string and the date. A review that cannot show the search cannot be checked.
What are the steps?
- List the concepts. One column per part of the question.
- Add synonyms. The word in your head is not the word in the abstract.
- Name the indexes. PubMed for clinical. OpenAlex for the wider set. Do not write the internet.
- Save the string. Date, database, and the exact string. You will need this for the flow diagram.
What does ScholarIQ do at this step?
ScholarIQ searches OpenAlex, ORCID and PubMed from the question. You can also upload a file from a database you already searched. It does not replace a named protocol database.
How long does this take for one person?
Count the records first. A search strategy is the databases, the date, and the exact string. A box of keywords is not a strategy. The time follows the count, not the size of a team.
What do I write down before I stop?
The rule, the date, and the count. List the concepts from the question. Add the synonyms. Name the indexes. For a biomedical question, PubMed with MeSH is still the index you name. Save the string and the date. A review that cannot show the search cannot be checked.
Do I need a second reviewer?
Not to start. ScholarIQ does not score a second reviewer. If the protocol asks for dual review, a second person sees the same record.
What is the usual error?
A file with no reason. List the concepts from the question. Add the synonyms. Name the indexes. For a biomedical question, PubMed with MeSH is still the index you name. Save the string and the date. A review that cannot show the search cannot be checked.
How do I know this step is done?
The count matches the records. If a flow-diagram box would not match, the step is not done.
What goes in the methods?
The rule, the date, and the count. A reader must be able to open the same record.
Can I skip this step?
No, if you will call the work a systematic review. If you skip it, write what you did. Do not hide the gap.
What if I cannot finish?
Stop. Write how far you got. Records you did not screen are not exclusions.
What does a supervisor check?
The rule, a sample of decisions, and the passage.
What is outside this step?
A guideline panel, a CRO, and a GRADE meeting. ScholarIQ searches OpenAlex, ORCID and PubMed from the question. You can also upload a file from a database you already searched. It does not replace a named protocol database.