Background:
The searching for studies element of any systematic review forms the basis of that review, and the effectiveness of the searching in identifying the relevant studies for inclusion in the review impacts on the reliability of the results of the review.

Objectives:
To provide Cochrane Review authors with guidance on searching for studies for inclusion in a Cochrane Review. Participants will gain an understanding of some of the issues and challenges involved, and practical advice on how to conducting searches successfully.

Description:
Questions to be considered will include: where to search for studies; how to search efficiently and what to do with the search results. This session is primarily aimed at Cochrane Review authors and will focus on Cochrane policy for searching for studies as described in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions (Searching for studies) and the MECIR standards (methods.cochrane.org/mecir). The workshop will highlight each area addressed in the Handbook chapter including: developing a search strategy using participants, intervention, comparator, outcomes (PICO); sensitivity versus precision; Boolean operators and controlled vocabulary; going beyond MEDLINE/PubMed - identification and comparison of resources; organizing and managing the search results and documenting and reporting the search process. The facilitators (JG and CL) are Co-Convenors of the Cochrane Information Retrieval Methods Group (IRMG) and authors of the Cochrane Handbook Chapter (Searching for studies) and also co-led the searching for studies element of the MECIR initiative. The session will include presentations, demonstrations, group discussion and hands-on exercises. Participants should bring their own laptops.