literature-search

Literature Search Best Practice

Search Strategy Design

1. Define research question using PICO framework (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome)
2. Identify 2-4 core concepts from the research question
3. List synonyms, abbreviations, and related terms for each concept
4. Combine terms with Boolean operators: AND (between concepts), OR (within synonyms)
5. Select at least 3 complementary databases relevant to the domain:
   • Biomedical: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science
   • Computer science: arXiv, Semantic Scholar, DBLP, ACL Anthology
   • Interdisciplinary: Google Scholar, OpenAlex
6. Document exact search strings for reproducibility

Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

1. Define date range (e.g., last 5-10 years for rapidly evolving fields)
2. Specify language restrictions (typically English)
3. Specify publication types (peer-reviewed, preprints, conference papers)
4. Define study design requirements (RCTs, observational, computational)
5. Set domain-specific filters (species, methodology, sample size)