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Document your search & PRISMA

Document your search

It is essential to document your search - this helps you to stay within scope of your research question and provides valuable information when you are writing up your search methodology. It also allows your readers to reproduce or replicate the search themselves if required. 

Depending on the document type you are writing (and any specific assessment requirements) there may be specific requirements as to what you need to document and how it needs to be presented, ranging from a simple Word document (see below for templates) through to official reporting guidelines such as Preferred Reporting for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA).
 

If it is a requirement to write a search methodology or use PRISMA, have everything you need on hand to do so before you commence your literature search.

Document your search to guide writing of a methodology

We suggest you document:

  • date of search
  • database/s and platform
  • variables to your search strategy (concept map)
  • date range covered
  • number of records retrieved
  • where the search results were exported (e.g. EndNote or other reference management software)
  • any notes relevant to the search or results

Using PRISMA

Preferred Reporting for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) is a set of reporting guidelines that informs the research process, helping authors to report why their research was done, the methodology they used and what they found.

Using PRISMA is often a compulsory requirement when writing a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis or Scoping Review as it informs the reader of the literature search methodology, helping to ensure credibility and transparency of the content.

As part of your assessment task or review document, you may use the PRISMA checklist to guide your research and/or complete a PRISMA flow diagram.  

The PRISMA checklist ensures all necessary items are reported.  This includes items like study selection process, data extraction methods, and risk of bias assessment.

The PRIMSA flow diagram is a visual representation of the study selection process.  This enhances transparency and allows readers to understand how studies were included or excluded.