Comparing the effectiveness of using generic and specific search terms in electronic databases to identify health outcomes for a systematic review: a prospective comparative study of literature search methods.

ABSTRACT: To compare the effectiveness of systematic review literature searches that use either generic or specific terms for health outcomes. Prospective comparative study of two electronic literature search strategies. The 'generic' search included general terms for health such as 'adolescent health', 'health status', 'morbidity', etc. The 'specific' search focused on terms for a range of specific illnesses, such as 'headache', 'epilepsy', 'diabetes mellitus', etc. The authors searched Medline, Embase, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO and the Education Resources Information Center for studies published in English between 1992 and April 2010. Number and proportion of studies included in the systematic review that were identified from each search. The two search

SUBMITTER: Egan M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3383975 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature