Background:
A search summary table (SST) reports the results of the search methods in a systematic review (SR). It details the databases searched, which databases the included papers were found in, which supplementary search methods were used and whether they discovered any additional included papers.
Objectives:
To use three linked Cochrane Reviews on recurrent abdominal pain in children as a case study to:
1) illustrate the utility of SSTs, and
2) explore the potential benefits of incorporating SSTs into the methods of future reviews.
Methods:
The three Cochrane SRs took four years to complete. A SST was completed for the initial search in 2013. We re-ran the full search in all 12 databases three times as update searches (in 2014, 2015 and 2016) and completed a SST for each one. We compared the results of the four SSTs to discover the optimal database combinations for each search and the usefulness of supplementary searching.
Results:
The first SST lists the initial 29 included references and the 12 databases searched. From these, only three (MEDLINE, Embase and PsycINFO) found unique references so searching just those three databases would have found all the included references. In the first update, we identified four additional references – searching two databases (Embase and MEDLINE) would have been sufficient to identify these.
Conclusions:
Update searches are inevitable in large and complex Cochrane Reviews if searches are to be less than 12 months old at publication. Identifying efficiency savings in conducting update searches would be a welcome addition to Cochrane methods. SSTs allow the information specialist to focus time and resources on database searches and supplementary search methods that are more likely to impact the final review. Clear reporting of searches using the SST approach would also lead to efficiencies in the timing and conduct of further review updates.
Patient or healthcare consumer involvement:
Increasing the efficiency of searching will positively impact on the time taken to complete reviews, allowing patients and healthcare consumers to access evidence in a more timely fashion.
