Request a literature search
Are you planning on conducting a systematic review or developing a clinical guideline and need help with the literature search? Contact the Library & ICT Research Support team for a consultation or a search request.
Free search service for researchers and PhD students
The Library & ICT research support team assists researchers and doctoral students at the Faculty of Medicine in designing search strategies, conducting searches in multiple databases, and creating transparent documentation. We follow current international methods like PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis statement). The search service is free of charge.
Submit your request via our request form and we will get back to you. Depending on our workload and prior requests, time to start and deliver a literature search may vary. Please include the following information when submitting a request:
- a clearly defined search question
- criteria for inclusion and exclusion, language, publication period and study type
- 3-5 key papers
- if possible, a protocol or project plan
Acknowledgements
We request an acknowledgement for our contribution, for example in the acknowledgements section of your publication. We can also help formulate the text in the methods section where the literature search is described.
How – The working process step by step
At the first consultation, we discuss the research question, including the study design, language, publication years, and publication types. Together, we develop a search strategy and setting a timeline for the requested search.
The search team conducts an initial scoping search to ensure that the topic is well-defined or if it needs clarifying, and to identify terms and synonyms in title and abstract, as well as how relevant studies are indexed.
The search is conducted in all relevant databases. Searches in additional sources may be conducted if needed, depending on the research area and review type. Prior to publication, we are happy to help update the search so that recently published research is included.
The search is documented fully to ensure transparency and reproducibility, according to international standards.
Contact
Library & ICT Research support team
Contact us through Library & ICT´s contact form.