The Search Process Checklist is a tool that is used in instructional sessions with nurses in reference to evidence-based practice and literature searching. It is intended as a reference handout.
It is under a creative commons license. If you would like a version that can be rebranded for your organization to use, please contact the author for an editable version

Brown, Roy E.

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Virginia Commonwealth UniversityVCU Scholars CompassVCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications VCU Libraries2018Search Process ChecklistRoy E. Brownrebrown2@vcu.eduFollow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/libraries_pubsPart of the Library and Information Science CommonsThis checklist is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CCBY-NC-SA 4.0) License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).This White Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the VCU Libraries at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in VCULibraries Faculty and Staff Publications by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contactlibcompass@vcu.edu.Downloaded fromhttps://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/libraries_pubs/51            Search Process ChecklistRoy Brown, MLIS, AHIPResearch and Education LibrarianNursing Liaison Email: rebrown2@vcu.eduPhone: 804-828-1592Nursing Research Guide:https://guides.library.vcu.edu/nursing               Talked with hospital/unit experts, nurse clinicians and/or nurse manager. Checked for available protocols. Checked for available hospital/ unit policyChecked for practice guideline:Checked for systematic review/meta-analysis PICO Components Describe PICO ComponentsP – Patient, Population, Problem, Program:Important CharacteristicsI – Intervention:Drug/treatment, diagnostic/screening test, exposure, etc. C – Comparison Intervention (If Applicable):Alternative being considered (placebo, std. therapy, no treatment, gold std.)What is Being Done Presently O – OutcomeWhat to measure, accomplish, improve, affect (reduced mortality/morbidity, improve quality of life, accurate & timely diagnosis)T – Type of QuestionT – Type of Study Problem/Issue/Question:Check to see if there is an established way of doing things:Stakeholders/Those Affected by Project: ______________________________________(May Need to Talk with These People or Departments -  Could be Potential Teammates on Project) Constructing Your Question:   Start with a background question (broad) and move towards a foreground question (focused – PICO format)   PICO Format – Not Applicable in All Situations Other Question FormatsTRIP DatabaseProfessional Orgs. (ex.AORN)Scientific Societies (ex. American Heart Assoc.)Point of Care Tools               (ex. Up to Date, Clinical Key)US Preventative Services Task ForcePubMed/Medline CINAHL Cochrane Database of Sys. Rev. EMBASE             Search Process ChecklistRoy Brown, MLIS, AHIPResearch and Education LibrarianNursing Liaison Email: rebrown2@vcu.eduPhone: 804-828-1592Nursing Research Guide:https://guides.library.vcu.edu/nursing Type of Question Best Type of StudyTherapy : How to select treatments to offer patients that do more  good than harm and that are worth the efforts and costs of using them. Randomized Control Trial (RCT)Prevention: How to prevent a disease or condition RCT / Cohort Study / Case ControlPrognosis: How to estimate the patient’s likely clinical course over time and anticipate the likely complications of disease.  Cohort Study / Case Control / Case Series or Case ReportDiagnosis:  How to select and interpret diagnostic tests. Blind RCT / Compared to Gold Standard(Best Treatment / Test for Diagnosis)Etiology/Harm: How to identify causes for disease. RCT / Cohort Study /Case ControlCost analysis: Economic costs of all facets of a intervention or disease treatment. Economic AnalysisPICO Components Primary Search Terms Alternative TermsPICOThe Type of Question Can Determine Type of Studies Needed:• Always want a clinical practice guideline, systematic review or meta-analysis when possible.  Most of the time you will find only primary studiesUsers' guides to the medical literature :A manual for evidence-based clinical practice (2008). In Rennie D. (Ed.), McGraw-Hill Medical: McGraw-Hill Medical : New York.Restatement of Question Using PICO Components: (Needs to be answerable/measurable)Searching for the Literature or Evidence Search Terms / Concepts:            Search Process ChecklistRoy Brown, MLIS, AHIPResearch and Education LibrarianNursing Liaison Email: rebrown2@vcu.eduPhone: 804-828-1592Nursing Research Guide:https://guides.library.vcu.edu/nursing -Gender:____ Male____ FemaleSpecies:____ Humans ____ Animals Age Groups: (May Differ Between Databases) ____ All Ages____ Newborn ( < 1 month)____ Infant (1 - 23 months)____ Pre-School (2 - 5 yrs.)____ Child (6-12 yrs.)____ Adolescent (13-18yrs.) ____ Adult (19 - 44 yrs.)____ Middle Aged (45-64 yrs.)____ Elderly (65 - 79 yrs.)____ Aged ( > 80 yrs.)Languages:  English Only Other Languages _____________Years Covered:Last 5 YearsLast 10 Years Year Range   _______to ______Evidence Pyramid: Try to find evidence towards top of pyramid and work your way down . Contact a librarian to discuss your search strategy, possible databases and other aspects of the literature search or other issues concerning your EBP project / question. Contact: Roy Brown, MLIS, AHIP | Email: rebrown2@vcu.eduPossible Limits to Apply :Citations Found That are Related to the Topic :Known Authors or Researchers in the Field :            Search Process ChecklistRoy Brown, MLIS, AHIPResearch and Education LibrarianNursing Liaison Email: rebrown2@vcu.eduPhone: 804-828-1592Nursing Research Guide:https://guides.library.vcu.edu/nursing o Disseminate – Poster, Paper, Podium Presentation If you find a good article, search for it in PubMed, CINAHL or another database that has a controlled vocabulary and see how it is indexed. This will allow you to find terms that may be useful to find articles on the same topic.Database #1:__________________________Database #2:__________________________Database #3:________________________Proceed with Evidence Based Practice Project / Question  Questions:  Contact Your Nurse Clinician, Nurse Manager or VCU Health Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Leadership Council.  Next Steps:o Finalize Team Members & Schedule Meetings o Assess translation of evidence into practice settingo Gather Pre-Intervention / Pre-Project Datao Create Action Plan to Implement Change o Gather Post Intervention / Project Data o Report Results to Decision Makerso Adopt Change & Identify Next Stepso Disseminate – Poster, Paper, Podium PresentationProceed with Research Project  Next Steps:o Contact the VCU Health Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Leadership Councilo Find or Be Assigned a Mentor o Formulate IRB Proposal and Submit for Approval o Collect and Analyze Data o Determine Impact or Outcome of the Study o Disseminate – Poster, Paper, Podium PresentationUseful Keywords or Subject Headings By Database :Appraisal of the Evidence Found – Is There Enough?  Appraising the evidence when it comes to EBP  and should be done as team with more than one person appraising each article or piece of evidence.  Remember that EBP is a team process and that each person may have a different strength when it comes to appraising evidence. YesNo             Search Process ChecklistRoy Brown, MLIS, AHIPResearch and Education LibrarianNursing Liaison Email: rebrown2@vcu.eduPhone: 804-828-1592Nursing Research Guide:https://guides.library.vcu.edu/nursing o Disseminate – Poster, Paper, Podium Presentation1) Basic Rules of Doing a Good Search1) Break Search into Concepts • Easier to Manipulate Your Search to Get Desired Results • Start with Two Most Important Concepts from Your Question• Combine with Boolean Operators - AND, OR, NOT2) Come up with Alternative Terms or Concepts for Your Topic • Databases = Different Audiences • Remember Terms People Use Are Based on Background/Perspective• Sources for:o Index/Entry Terms of Subject Headingso Terms from Related Articles o Google ScholarConcept/ Term Synonyms/ Related Concepts(Other Ways to Describe)Concept/ Term #1Concept/ Term #2Concept/ Term #3Concept 1: Pressure Ulcer OR Pressure Ulcer OR Bed Sore Concept 2:  Elderly OR Elderly OR Aged Concept 3:  Inpatient OR Inpatient OR Hospitalized AND ANDORORORAND AND            Search Process ChecklistRoy Brown, MLIS, AHIPResearch and Education LibrarianNursing Liaison Email: rebrown2@vcu.eduPhone: 804-828-1592Nursing Research Guide:https://guides.library.vcu.edu/nursing o Disseminate – Poster, Paper, Podium Presentation 3) Use Subject Heading When Possible • PubMed – Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)   • CINAHL – CINAHL Headings   • Useful Tools:o MeSH on Demand:  https://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/MeSHonDemand.htmlo Yale MeSH Analyzer:  http://mesh.med.yale.edu/                                        Advantages DisadvantagesControlledVocabulary(Subject Heading)• May provide terms that can broaden or narrow search• Accounts for most common synonyms• Retrieve all items in database indexed under the topic• Recently coined terms may not have a subject term assigned• Can be difficult to find if no  list of subject terms is included in the databaseKeyword• Retrieve synonyms, jargon, new or distinctive words• Identify relevant articles quickly to find appropriate controlled vocabulary• May retrieve irrelevant articles• Your search must account for synonyms and alternative terms4) Start Your Search Broad and Then Focus• Use Limits/Filter of the Database (Publication/Study Types, Language, Gender/Sex, Etc.)o Start at the Top of the Evidence Pyramid and Work Down• Add an Additional Concept or Term  Finding Too Many Articles?Ways to Decrease/Focus Your ResultsNot Finding Enough?Ways to Expand/ Increase Your Results• Do not explode• Restrict subject heading to major focus• Choose any relevant subheadings• Utilize limits to English language, human subjects, review articles, etc.• Explode whenever possible• Do not restrict subject headings to major focus• Do not choose subheadings• Consider searching back in time, look at citations• Consider doing a keyword search            Search Process ChecklistRoy Brown, MLIS, AHIPResearch and Education LibrarianNursing Liaison Email: rebrown2@vcu.eduPhone: 804-828-1592Nursing Research Guide:https://guides.library.vcu.edu/nursing o Disseminate – Poster, Paper, Podium PresentationOriginal version appeared in the following article:McGrath, J. M., Brown, R. E., & Samra, H. A. (2012). Before you search the literature: how to prepare and get the most out of citation databases. Newborn and Infant Nursing Reviews, 12(3), 162-170.5) Always Search at Least Two Databases – Unique Articles in Each Database • Provide different ways to access same information base and may find evidence in one database using terminology that would not be found in another database.            Search Process ChecklistRoy Brown, MLIS, AHIPResearch and Education LibrarianNursing Liaison Email: rebrown2@vcu.eduPhone: 804-828-1592Nursing Research Guide:https://guides.library.vcu.edu/nursing o Disseminate – Poster, Paper, Podium PresentationNotes

Search Process Checklist

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