Library guides: Systematic and Systematic-Style Reviews: Step 3: Managing results

Managing results

Documenting the search

A key part of conducting a systematic-style review is ensuring the reproducibility and transparency of your search (Cochrane Handbook, 4.5). This requires careful documentation of how you arrived at your search results. Start this process the moment you begin searching, and capture such details as:

Databases/platforms selected
Search strategy in full, including MeSH and other database subject headings, along with truncation/operators, and how the terms were combined
Any filters added
Time period searched
Date search was run
Number and kinds of studies selected (quantitative/qualitative)

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA guidelines) are a crucial component of your review project. They are the gold standard for formally documenting search results for journal publication. These guidelines include a PRISMA flow diagram, and PRISMA checklist, which helps map the information found throughout the various stages of a systematic review. See below for a snapshot:

PRISMA and Cochrane resources for documenting and reporting your search

Cochrane Handbook 4.5: Documenting and reporting the search process Consult the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions to find out how to document the search process in enough detail to ensure that it can be reported correctly in the review.
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA guidelines) The PRISMA 2020 statement comprises a 27-item checklist addressing the introduction, methods, results and discussion sections of a systematic review report.
PRISMA checklist This expanded 27-item checklist details elements recommended for reporting for each PRISMA 2020 item.
PRISMA Flow Diagram The flow diagram depicts the flow of information through the different phases of a systematic review. It maps out the number of records identified, included and excluded, and the reasons for exclusions. Different templates are available depending on the type of review (new or updated) and sources used to identify studies.

Saving searches

Saving your search history

It is best practice to capture your searches from the onset of your review process - particularly as the search will evolve as you progress through the various phases of your review. An easy way to capture this is to copy and paste the search string from the search history of the database platform and put it into a Word document. Be sure to include the date, and any details of filters/limits applied to the search.

Saving searches/alerts within databases

You can save your searches by registering or signing in to a database. Once registered you can keep up-to-date by receiving alerts of articles in your research topic area as they are published. This is a free one-off process completed on the database homepage and commonly involves creating a username and password.

Ebsco databases This link opens in a new window Medline, CINAHL, AMED: Sign in and create a new account. This account can be used in the EBSCO databases. Table of Contents alerts can be created from the ‘My journal list’ section.
Health Collection (InfoRMIT) This link opens in a new window Email updates from any search, or create an RSS feed.
PubMed This link opens in a new window Users can create a personal login to My NCBI to save searches and create alerts.
Scopus This link opens in a new window Create a personal user name and password. Any search can be used to create an alert.
Web of Science Core Collection This link opens in a new window Save your search history and create an alert for any new records. This could be a keyword search, a journal table of contents, or an update of articles citing an article of interest (including your own published articles).
Wiley Online Library This link opens in a new window Create your own login and save a search. Articles are updated via email.

Search tools

There are several tools available to help streamline your review and extract information from the vast amount of literature that needs to be reviewed as a part of a systematic review:

JBI Sumari The System for the Unified Management, Assessment and Review of Information (SUMARI) is designed to assist researchers to conduct systematic reviews for 10 different review types.
Rayyan Rayyan is a free web-based tool that facilitates the screening process of systematic reviews. It allows researchers to upload references and collaborate with other team members in the screening process.
Systematic Review Accelerator The SR-Accelerator is a suite of automation tools, purpose-built to speed up multiple steps in the systematic review (SR) process.

Importing, managing and coding references

Exporting references from your database searches is usually straightforward, and generally involves the following steps:

Search a database
Mark the records you want to save
Select the database's direct export option (.ris format is always EndNote compatible)
Select the EndNote Library you wish to export the records to

See examples of exporting from various databases on the EndNote LibGuide:

Export references from databases to EndNote

EndNote comes with the capability to automatically find and attach the full text of journal articles to EndNote records.

You will need to follow the setup instructions for enabling Find Full Text.

The Find Full Text commands will only work for Southern Cross University subscribed full text resources, and some open access resources. Due to the nature of some databases and authentication issues, not all University subscribed resources will be retrieved.
Records which include a DOI within the DOI field will retrieve more full text. When downloading from databases ensure you select to include the DOI in downloaded records.
Enabling EndNote Web may improve the success rate of Find Full Text. To enable EndNote Web (or create an EndNote Web account if you have not already done so) within EndNote, click Edit > Preferences. Select EndNote Web then Activate and follow the prompts.

Endnote PDF management & find full text

Use EndNote's Change/Move/Copy Fields command to automatically add text (such as the name of the database, saved search name, or date searched) to your imported records.

This is very handy for keeping track of where records came from, and assists you if you need to return to the database for any reason later on.

Use EndNote's Groups and Group Sets command to quickly identify databases searched, then create individual groups to house results from each of the databases.

To create a Group Set (eg. the "Databases" set in the image below):

Select Groups > Create Group Set. Name the group set then press <Enter>.

Next, create each group to include in the set:

Select Groups > Create Group. Name the group then press <Enter>.
Continue to create groups.

To add references to groups:

Highlight the reference in the Library Window and drag the reference to the specific group.

Once all databases have been searched, records downloaded into EndNote, and a note made of the number of results retrieved from each database, you must identify and delete duplicate records.

To ensure that all duplicate records are identified and deleted:

Run the EndNote Find Duplicates command: via References > Find Duplicates.

By default EndNote will identify a record as a duplicate if it includes the same author/s, year of publication and title as another record within the Library. You can review duplicates found one at a time, as shown below, or click Skip to display all duplicates in one screen, which can then be deleted in one click.

After running the EndNote Find Duplicates command it is essential that you follow up with a manual check of your Library for duplicates.

Re-sort your Library Window alphabetically by title (click the Title column heading), then visually scan, identify and delete duplicated records.

The following EndNote functionality may be used to assist systematic reviewers to code references, for example for inclusion or exclusion.

Use EndNote's Groups and Group Sets Command

To create a Group Set (eg. the "Excluded" set in the image below):

Select Groups > Create Group Set. Name the group set then press <Enter>.

Next, create each group to include in the set:

Select Groups > Create Group. Name the group then press <Enter>.
Continue to create groups.

To add references to groups:

Highlight the reference in the Library Window and drag the reference to the specific group.

Create customised fields for storing specific information about records:

Select Edit > Preferences > Reference Types from the left side of the Preferences window.
Select the Reference Type (eg. Journal Article) to adjust, then Modify Reference Types.
The template for each reference may be selected from the drop down list at the top of the Modify Reference Types window.
Within the Journal Article template, scroll down to one of the Custom fields, then type your inclusion/exclusion criteria in the cell to the immediate right.
This new field must be included within each of the Reference Type templates - select Apply to All Reference Types to apply across all templates, then click OK.

Adjusting your EndNote Library window to display customised fields

To change the column headings:

Select Edit > Preferences, then Display fields from the left side of the Preferences window. Select the fields to display from the 10 drop-down lists, then click OK.
If you want to change the name of a column from the default EndNote field name, type the required text in the Heading text box.