Research databases
Choosing the best databases for your search maximises topic coverage and reduces the risk of bias. We recommend following the industry leading Cochrane Handbook database recommendations. Search all Essential databases, a Subject-Specific database, and a Citation database for citation searching. You may also consider Grey Literature (discussed further down the page).
Note
Systematic searching requires you run near identical searches in each database, tailoring the search techniques and subject headings for each individual database. For this reason, it is crucial that you search in one at a time.
Cochrane considers Medline and Embase as Essential databases for health reviews, with Cochrane CENTRAL added if the review is including Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs).
- Medline Complete (Ebsco) or Ovid Medline (for those trained in Ovid)
The largest health database in the world, based in the United States and part of the larger PubMed collection.
- Embase
Along with MEDLINE considered a the key international general healthcare databases, includes biomed and pharmacology.- Video on searching Embase and Emtree systematically (watch to the end to catch all the important tips).
- IMPORTANT: Register and/or sign in to an Embase account before you search in order to export more than 500 results.
- The Embase-only filter should be added to the final combining line:
AND [embase]/lim NOT ([embase]/lim AND [medline]/lim)
- Cochrane CENTRAL
Centralised collection of all Trials from PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, WHO ICTRP and ClinicalTrials.gov.
Required for reviews which include the study type Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs)- Video on searching with Cochrane's search history tool
- Select the Trials tab to limit your search to the Cochrane CENTRAL and exclude systematic reviews.
Scholarly Services Librarians have selected these databases as the best source for their subject area at Deakin Library. They are collated by professionals in the field and regularly updated with the latest journals for best coverage of the subject. Choose the most relevant databases to your topic. Remember - less is more!
| Database | Subject |
|---|---|
| APA PsycINFO Main psychology database developed by the American Psychological Association. |
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| CINAHL Complete Main nursing database that also covers allied health. |
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| Maternity and Infant Care (MIDIRS) Also known as MIDIRS, developed by and for the midwifery profession. |
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| Global Health A large public health database. |
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| SportDISCUS with Full Text Comprehensive sport and sports medicine database. |
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| Health Policy Reference Centre International and U.S. coverage of all aspects of health policy. |
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| SocINDEX with Full Text Comprehensive sociology research database. |
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| ERIC ERIC (Education Resource Information Center) includes all levels of education and education theory. |
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| Business Source Complete One of the largest Business databases business and industry practice, and organisational psychology. |
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| IEEE Xplore Covering information technology, engineering and related sciences. |
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| Environment Complete Includes agriculture, environmental study, pollution & waste management, environmental technology, environmental law, public policy, social impacts, urban planning, and more. |
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| Urban Studies Abstracts Includes urban studies, community development, urban history, built environment impact etc. |
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To find the best database on other topics such as Science, Business, Education, Law, view our other guides or contact your Scholarly Services Librarian.
Scopus and Web of Science are citation databases, they are commonly used for citation searching of gold set articles in a systematic search. Health tends to perform better in Scopus. Their breadth of coverage and lack of universal subject headings makes them less suitable for systematic searching. Cochrane does not require exhaustive citation searching using multiple citation indexes.
- ScopusScopus is the largest abstract and citation database of research literature and web sources, covering Life Sciences, Health Sciences, Physical Sciences, Social Sciences. This database includes some links to external full text articles.
- Web of ScienceThe Web of Science interface includes Web of Science Core Collections including the Arts & humanities citation index, Conference Proceedings Citation Indexes, Current Chemical Reactions and Book Citation Indexes and also hosts the following databases: Current Contents Connect, Biosis Citation Index (1926-2016), SciELO citation index, MEDLINE and Zoological record.
Citation searching is a process where you search for the title of an article to find citing articles and references. The benefit of this search method is finding articles not by keywords in your search, but by the relationship between papers as expert authors in their field cite other relevant studies.
When to citation search:
- Before finalising your database searches: During the early stages of your review, you will identify gold set articles which meet your eligibility criteria. Search for these articles in a citation database to find further relevant gold set articles in the references and citing articles.
- After full-text screening: Once you have identified the full text articles to be included in the review, you can citation search each article to check for any further titles which may have been missed in bibliographic database searches.
Citation searching (snowball searching)
Each key article on your review topic can be "snowball" searched
to find citing articles and references using Scopus and Web of Science
Licensing information: Please read what you can and can't do with each resource in the A-Z Databases under 'License Information'. Queries can be sent to the Publisher Licensing Consultant.
Do you need a protocol?
If you are writing a protocol, it is essential to include the search strategy, the databases to be searched, and whether you are including grey literature. You can find out more about protocols on the Systematic and systematic-like review toolkit.
Grey literature
Our Grey Literature guide and Searching the grey literature module provides a comprehensive overview of grey literature for the health sciences.
Can you systematically search for grey literature?
Grey literature platforms are not designed for systematic searching, so you can’t replicate the line-by-line search strategy. Instead, you should aim to produce a well-constructed, simplified variation of the bibliographic search. Although there are no established ‘gold standard’ methods for grey literature searching, you should still aim to transparently document your search strategies.
- Construct your grey literature search after your database search when you are most aware and familiar with the topic terminology and expected literature.
- Be clear about the type of grey literature you intend to include in your review.
- Consider running multiple separate search strategies on the one platform.
- Document your grey literature search strategies. Remember to record all of your keyword combinations, any limiters you applied, and how many results pages you read through.
Know the difference between a database and a platform
Databases are digital collections of information, including journals, articles, e-books, reports, and conference proceedings. MEDLINE Complete, Embase, and APA PsycINFO are examples of databases with a health focus. These databases are purposefully designed to facilitate efficient and precise searches.
Platforms are online systems or websites that provide access to these databases. EBSCOhost, Ovid, and Informit are examples of platforms that provide access to multiple databases. Platforms often have their own user interface, search operators, and syntax.
Many of these databases can be found on multiple platforms, so when recording your search strategies, it is important to outline which platform you used to access each database. For example, “MEDLINE Complete via EBSCOHost”.
