1. Environmental scan

• Conduct a general search to get an idea of the amount of literature on the topic and the terminology in use.
• Consider the types of articles or grey literature that would answer your research question.
• Canvass other reviews or theses in the subject area to see what has been done and how they searched.
• If you have identified key papers, check the reference lists. You can also check what papers have cited them since they were published.

2. Building your search

• Formulate your research question or topic. Consider any limits: study type, publication year, country etc.
• Identify the key concepts and brainstorm alternative terms and subject headings for each concept.
• Look at relevant articles for their keywords and subject headings, or use database thesauri.
• See Planning your search for an example of building a search strategy for a topic.

3. Choosing databases

• Find databases by topic using the Library's Subject guides.
• Journals are indexed in different databases, so you may need to search more than one. The number of databases you search depends on your topic and the type of review or research task.
• Depending on your topic, you may also need to find other types of information e.g. unpublished clinical trials, policy documents, government reports, and other grey literature.

4. Searching and iterating

• Develop an initial search strategy in one database using keywords and subject headings.
• Combine terms using boolean operators and techniques such as truncation and phrase searching.
• Review the search results - is it identifying relevant papers? Do you need to adjust your search terms?
• Adapt your final search to other databases.
• Download eligible full-text articles from databases or using browser plugins
• For help with your search strategy, request a Research consultation

5. Documenting your search

When you write up your systematic review, you will need to report your search strategy so that it can be reproduced. For traditional literature reviews, documenting your search helps you make the most of your time.

• Keep a record of what search terms you use and where you search.
• Look for features in databases to save your searches. You can also set up a search alert to receive notification of new research.
• EndNote, Excel and other reference tools can be used to help manage your search results.
• Consider using review tools such as Covidence or Rayyan to manage systematic reviews. See the SR Toolbox for software options.
• PRISMA and Cochrane offer guidance on how to report your search. You can also look for a review in your field and see how they have reported their search.