As you begin to plan your search strategy you will need to consider the eligibility criteria you will use to screen your articles. This will include all of your inclusion and exclusion criteria for your topic. This criteria defines what it is you want to include in your final review, and what you wish to exclude from your review.
Eligibility Criteria
When you are outlining your eligibility criteria, you should think about criteria that could be used both as limiters in the databases, but also as evaluation criteria for when you are reading and narrowing your resources. This should also involve defining the concepts of your research question. It is important that your readers understand how you define your topic.
Example question: "In young adults who are moderate smokers, does nicotine replacement therapy increase the probability of smoking cessation?
Considerations:
Inclusion Criteria
Inclusion criteria are elements of resources that must be present in order to meet the needs of your topic, assignment, or focus. These elements must be present for you to consider using them in your final review.
Some examples include:
Exclusion Criteria
Exclusion criteria are elements of resources that if found would disqualify them from being used in your final review. Sometimes these are closely related to your inclusion criteria, and may not be easily added to your search. Exclusions elements may need to saved for the evaluation stage of your review and considered while reading the full-text of the resources.
Some examples include:
Adapted from University of British Columbia Libraries.
Source: Systematic Review for Health Sciences and Medicine. Retrieved August 28, 2024, from https://unimelb.libguides.com/sysrev/inclusion-exclusion-criteria