Systematic Search Strategy
A systematic search strategy is a comprehensive, transparent protocol for retrieving all relevant literature addressing a well-defined research question. Developed by the Cochrane Collaboration and formalized in guidelines like PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses), systematic search strategies are essential for conducting unbiased literature reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. Unlike ad hoc searches (searching Google Scholar or PubMed without a protocol), systematic searches document every step—which databases were searched, what search terms were used, how many results were retrieved, and what inclusion/exclusion criteria were applied—enabling other researchers to reproduce the search and verify that no relevant studies were missed.
Source record
Citations copied verbatim from the method’s source record. No claim-level verification is inferred from them.
- Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., & Altman, D. G. (2009). Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA statement. PLoS Medicine, 6(7), e1000097. · DOI 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097
- Higgins, J. P. T., & Thomas, J. (Eds.). (2019). Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions (Version 6.0). The Cochrane Collaboration. · URL
- Bramer, W. M., Rethlefsen, M. L., Murad, M. H., & Landhuis, E. (2016). When updating systematic reviews, how often should new searches be applied to increase the chance of finding relevant studies? Systematic Reviews, 5(1), 94. · URL
Curated claims
Claims persisted in the evidence ledger, each with its own assessment.
This view does not invent a claim assessment when the ledger has none.
Related methods
Generated from the method graph and shown as machine-suggested relations — no evidence claim is inferred.