There are two videos for you to watch to help you with using the library and searching the databases. The first is a lecture style video of a powerpoint presentation. The second is a recording of a CINAHL search demonstration. The slides for the first presentation are available in the next tab.
I have also created a tip sheet for boolean operators as well as some of the truncation and wildcards for EBSCO databases. They can be found in the tab marked "Handouts."
There is also a worksheet you may find useful for building your search in the "Worksheet" tab, and a PRISMA Flow Diagram.
To construct a PICO for your question, you need to extract the relevant details from your question.
Example:
I want to examine how video games can help in stroke recovery. By using the PICO framework, I can develop each of my concepts and create a specific and researchable question.
Possible research question: How effective is video game-based balance rehabilitation as an adjunctive therapy to conventional rehabilitation in stroke patients over the age of 65?
A search strategy for a knowledge synthesis will contain three fundamental traits. They are:
Your search strategy is different from your research question, but your question will be the guiding force behind your strategy.
Research Question = what you are looking to answer
Search Strategy = how you will ask the database to find those answers
For more detailed information, see Prepare Your Search Strategy.
Once you have completed every component of your search and exported all of your search results, you will apply the inclusion/exclusion criteria to your entire set of search results. This is a significant part of the knowledge synthesis process and it will require screening hundreds or thousands of your results.
There are several ways of conducting your screening process.
If the results list is quite small, you can potentially manage the screening in your citation management software (Zotero) and a spreadsheet. You would need to set up folders to manage moving records through the screening process and spreadsheets to keep track of decisions. You need to keep track of your numbers throughout the process.
For a larger review, you will need to utilize a screening tool. Please see "Utilize a Screening Tool." These tools will provide structure for moving your records through the process and will help manage inter-reviewer conflict resolution.
There are "freemium" screening applications that provide limited functionality with a free account. The usual limitation is on the number of reviews, which makes the freemium option an attractive choice for students conducting one review for course work.
UNBC Library does not offer support nor facilitate access for these tools.
Simple to use. One free review limited to 500 citations.
Up to 3 free active reviews. Fairly simple functionality.
One free review with full functionality. Very robust work flow tools.
One month free trial, unlimited reviews with one reviewer.
These are free, open-access screening tools. UNBC does not offer support of training for these tools.
The PRISMA flow diagram depicts the flow of information through the different phases of a 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:
PRISMA 2020 flow diagram for new systematic reviews which included searches of databases and registers only (Word)
PRISMA 2020 flow diagram for new systematic reviews which included searches of databases, registers and other sources (Word)
PRISMA 2020 flow diagram for updated systematic reviews which included searches of databases and registers only (Word)
PRISMA 2020 flow diagram for updated systematic reviews which included searches of databases, registers and other sources (Word)
Note: The PRISMA 2020 flow diagram templates are distributed in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt and build upon this work, for commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Although there are different types of the PRISMA Flow diagram depending on your research, a simple PRISMA diagram could look like this after you complete your screening process (click on image to see larger version in new window):
For detailed instructions on completing the PRISMA Flow Diagram, see Step-by-Step: PRISMA Flow Diagram.
Critical appraisal is the careful analysis of a study to assess trustworthiness, relevance and results of published research. Here are some tools to guide you.
Appraising Grey Literature:
