Information Specialist Team

Endnote Training

To view videos in full screen, please click on the YouTube logo:

Searching and Review Clinics (EST)

The searching and review clinics have been set up to help the PenCLAHRC Evidence Synthesis Team to manage and respond to systematic review related queries from within the geographical area covered by PenCLAHRC.  Whether you are an academic or an NHS professional who needs to know where to start on the systematic review process or how to go about designing a search strategy, you can book an appointment with one of our reviewers or information specialists.

For further information, please visit: www.clahrc-peninsula.nihr.ac.uk/searching-and-review-clinics

Guide to Proximity Searching

• Guide to Proximity searching

Search summaries template

• SST 2022 template

ESMI Discussion Forums/PenSR Discussion Group

Searching for Grey Literature (Simon Briscoe, Alison Bethel and Morwenna Rogers) 13.09.16 Searching for grey literature
Searching for Systematic Reviews. Morwenna Rogers and Alison Bethel 21.04.15 Slides 21.04.15
Literature Searching for Realist Reviews. Simon Briscoe 01.04.14 SB slides

EAHIL Workshop

• ‌EAHIL workshop 2022
• Search summary template workshop EAHIL 2022

This page contains a list of recent systematic reviews that information specialists at the University of Exeter Medical School have contributed to. For a full list of publications please see our individual University of Exeter profile pages.

Abbott R, Bethel A, Rogers M, Whear R, Orr N, Shaw L, et al. Characteristics, quality and volume of the first 5 months of the COVID-19 evidence synthesis infodemic: a meta-research study. BMJ Evidence Based Medicine. 2022;27(3):169-77. Abstract

Abbott, R.A., Moore, D.A., Rogers, M., Bethel, A., Stein, K., Thompson-Coon, J. Effectiveness of pharmacist home visits for individuals at risk of medication-related problems: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. BMC Health Services Research. 2020;20(1):39. Abstract

Briscoe, S., Thompson Coon, J., Melendez-Torres, G.J., Abbott, R., Shaw, E., Nunns, M., Garside, R. (2022). Primary care clinicians’ perspectives on interacting with patients with gynaecological conditions or symptoms suggestive of gynaecological conditions: a scoping review of qualitative studies. National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Policy Research Programme. Full report

Carrieri, D., Pearson, M., Mattick, K., Papoutsi, C., Briscoe, S., Wong, G., Jackson, M. Interventions to minimise doctors’ mental ill-health and its impacts on the workforce and patient care: the Care Under Pressure realist review. Health Services and Delivery Research. 2020; 8(19), 1-132. Abstract

Crudgington, H., Rogers, M., Morris, H., Gringras, P., Pal, D.K., Morris, C. Epilepsy-specific patient-reported outcome measures of children's health-related quality of life: A systematic review of measurement properties. Epilepsia. 2020;61(2):230-48. Abstract

Eales, J., Bethel, A., Fullam, J., Olmesdahl, S., Wulandari, P., Garside, R. What is the evidence documenting the effects of marine or coastal nature conservation or natural resource management activities on human well-being in South East Asia? A systematic map. Environ Int. 2021;151:106397. Abstract

Eales, J., Bethel, A., Galloway, T., Hopkinson, P., Morrissey, K., Short, R.E., et al. Human health impacts of exposure to phthalate plasticizers: An overview of reviews. Environ Int. 2022;158:19. Abstract

Eke, H., Hunt, H., Ball, S., Rogers, M., Whear, R., Allinson, A., et al. Improving continence in children and young people with neurodisability: a systematic review and survey. Health Technology Assessment. 2021;25(73):1-258. Abstract

Goodwin, V.A., Allan, L., Bethel, A., Cowley, A., Cross, J.L., Day, J., et al. Rehabilitation to enable recovery from COVID-19: a rapid systematic review. Physiotherapy. 2021;111:4-22. Abstract

Gwernan-Jones R, Abbott R, Lourida I, Rogers M, Green C, Ball S, et al. The experiences of hospital staff who provide care for people living with dementia: A systematic review and synthesis of qualitative studies. International Journal of Older People Nursing. 2020;n/a(n/a):e12325. Abstract

Gwernan-Jones, R., Lourida, I., Abbott, R.A., Rogers, M., Green, C., Ball, S., et al. Understanding and improving experiences of care in hospital for people living with dementia, their carers and staff: three systematic reviews. Health Services and Delivery Research. 2020;8(43):1-248. Abstract

Husk, K., Blockley, K., Lovell, R., Bethel, A., Lang, I., Byng, R., et al. What approaches to social prescribing work, for whom, and in what circumstances? A realist review. Health and Social Care in the Community. 2020;28(2):309-24. Abstract

McHugh, C., Hurst, A., Bethel, A., Lloyd, J., Logan, S., Wyatt, K. The impact of the World Health Organization Health Promoting Schools framework approach on diet and physical activity behaviours of adolescents in secondary schools: a systematic review. Public Health. 2020;182:116-24. Abstract

Nunns, M., Shaw, L., Briscoe, S., Thompson Coon, J., Hemsley, A., Mcgrath, J.S., et al. Multicomponent hospital-led interventions to reduce hospital stay for older adults following elective surgery: a systematic review. NIHR Journals Library. 2019; 7(40). Abstract

Orr, N., Abbott, R., Bethel, A., Paviour, S., Whear, R., Garside, R., Thompson-Coon, J. What are the effects of animals on the health and wellbeing of residents in care homes? A systematic review of the qualitative and quantitative evidence. BMC Geriatr. 2023;23(1):32. Abstract

Patel, P., Hancock, J., Rogers, M., Pollard, S.R. Improving uncertainty tolerance in medical students: A scoping review. Medical Education. 2022 Dec;56(12):1163-1173. Abstract

Price, A., de Bell, S., Shaw, N., Bethel, A., Anderson, R., Thompson-Coon, J. What is the volume, diversity and nature of recent, robust evidence for the use of peer support in health and social care? An evidence and gap map. Campbell Systematic Reviews. 2022;18(3): e1264. Abstract

Shaw, E., Nunns, M., Spicer, S., Lawal, H., Briscoe, S., Melendez-Torres, G.J., Garside, R., Liabo, K., Thompson Coon, J. (2022). What multi-disciplinary delivery models for Occupational Health services are effective for whom? an umbrella review. NIHR Policy Research Programme. Full report

Short, R.E., Cox, D.T.C., Tan, Y.L., Bethel, A., Eales, J.F., Garside, R. Review of the evidence for oceans and human health relationships in Europe: A systematic map. Environmental International. 2021;146:18. Abstract

Stanton, I.C., Bethel, A., Leonard, A.F.C., Gaze, W.H., Garside, R. Existing evidence on antibiotic resistance exposure and transmission to humans from the environment: a systematic map. Environmental Evidence. 2022;11(1):24. Abstract

Thompson-Coon, J., Abbott, R., Bethel, A., Rogers, M., Whear, R., Shaw, L., et al. A snapshot of the characteristics, quality and volume of the covid-19 evidence synthesis infodemic: systematic review. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. 2021;75:A14-A5.

Welch, V., Mathew, C.M., Babelmorad, P., Li, Y., Ghogomu, E.T., Borg, J., et al. Health, social care and technological interventions to improve functional ability of older adults living at home: An evidence and gap map. Campbell Systematic Reviews. 2021;17(3):e1175. Abstract

Whear, R., Abbott, R.A., Bethel, A., Richards, D.A., Garside, R., Cockcroft, E., et al. Impact of COVID-19 and other infectious conditions requiring isolation on the provision of and adaptations to fundamental nursing care in hospital in terms of overall patient experience, care quality, functional ability, and treatment outcomes: systematic review. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 2022;78(1):78-108. Abstract

Whear, R., Bethel, A., Abbott, R., Rogers, M., Orr, N., Manzi, S., et al. Systematic reviews of convalescent plasma in COVID-19 continue to be poorly conducted and reported: a systematic review. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 2022;151:53-64. Abstract

Whear, R., Bethel, A., Abbott, R., Rogers, M., Orr, N., Manzi, S., et al. We need to talk about solutions looking through the lens of evidence syntheses of convalescent plasma therapy: a systematic review. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. 2022;76:A72-A. Abstract

Whear, R., Thompson‐Coon, J., Rogers, M., Abbott, R.A., Anderson, L., Ukoumunne, O., et al. Patient‐initiated appointment systems for adults with chronic conditions in secondary care. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2020(4). Abstract

Yeo, N.L., Elliott, L.R., Bethel, A., White, M.P., Dean, S.G., Garside, R. Indoor Nature Interventions for Health and Wellbeing of Older Adults in Residential Settings:A Systematic Review. Gerontologist. 2020;60(3):E184-E99. Abstract

Zhelev, Z., Peters, J., Rogers, M., Allen, M., Kijauskaite, G., Seedat, F., Wilkinson, E., Hyde, C. Test accuracy of artificial intelligence-based grading of fundus images in diabetic retinopathy screening: A systematic review. Journal of Medical Screening. 2023;0(0):09691413221144382. Abstract

Welcome Joelle: March 2024

We are delighted to welcome Joelle Kirby to the team as a Research Fellow in Information Science and Public Health Evidence Synthesis. Joelle will be working with the NIHR Public Health Review Team.

Congratulations to Simon Briscoe: July 2023

Simon's PhD titled Bridging formalisation and expert judgment in searches for studies for systematic reviews was awarded on 11th July. This was supervised by G.J. Melendez-Torres and Rebecca Abbott, and undertaken by publication route. The thesis explores the development of guidance and evidence-based practice for the identification of studies for systematic reviews, with a particular focus on forward citation searching and web searching, and the need for expert judgement even after clearly defined methods are established. Congratulations Simon!

EAHIL 2023 Trondheim: June 2023

Alison and Morwenna ran three workshops at the European Association of Health Information and Libraries conference in Trondheim in June, sharing their research on search summary tables and hosting discussions on systematic search methods. The conference is a small, friendly event that attracts experts in search and review methods from across Europe. The conference also featured a talk about right-wing suppression of libraries in the US, an organ recital at the medieval Nidaros Cathedral and, bizarrely, a forty-minute talk about construction, delivered by a stonemason from Bath.

Evidence Synthesis and Meta-Analysis in R Conference: March 2023

Alison recently took part in two panels at the Evidence Synthesis and Meta-Analysis in R Conference (ESMARConf). ESMARConf is a FREE a conference dedicated to raising awareness of open source tools in R for undertaking evidence syntheses.

The conference is coordinated by the Evidence Synthesis Hackathon which is a group that brings together researchers and coders to develop tools for evidence synthesis. ESMARConf is in its third year and many of the presentations and workshops are freely available from its website, Alison presented a 2-hour crash course last year on searching for studies which has been viewed over 800 times. This year, Alison was a panel member on discussions about information retrieval and the benefits and challenges of taking part in a hackathon.

Click on over to the ESMARConf website where recordings of many of the sessions are available to watch on Youtube – there are discussions and presentations on everything from planning a review to network meta-analysis using R and advanced GitHub.

Scoping review of uncertainty tolerance highlights why theory matters: March 2023

A scoping review co-authored by Morwenna was discussed this week in the Medical Education journal club podcast: https://paperspodcast.ki.se/2023/03/07/2-uncertainty-thats-what-one-fears-most/

Paper on an alternative approach to screening the results of Google Search: November 2021

Simon and Morwenna’s paper on an alternative approach to screening the results of Google Search for a systematic review has been published in HILJ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/hir.12409

Paper on the use of search summary tables: January 2021

Alison and Morwenna's paper on the use of search summary tables to improve systematic review search methods, results, and efficiency (with colleague Rebecca Abbott) was published in January 2021 in the Journal of the Medical Library Association - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7772975/

Paper on the conduct of web searching in Cochrane Reviews: December 2020

Simon’s paper on the conduct of web searching in Cochrane Reviews (with colleagues Michael Nunns and Liz Shaw) was published in the December 2020 edition of Health Information and Libraries Journal https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/hir.12313. The paper describes and evaluates the conduct of web searching in a cross-sectional sample of Cochrane Reviews.

EAHIL 2018: July 2019

Morwenna and Alison attended the EAHIL conference in Cardiff to run two workshops on supplementary search methods and on using PRESS to check search strategies. The blog post can be read here.

Naomi Shaw and Sophie Robinson are co-authors on a new chapter on searching for Clinical Effectiveness available via SuRe Info: May 2019

SuRe Info (Summarized Research in Information Retrieval for HTA) provides a summary of the latest evidence on information retrieval aspects of producing systematic reviews and health technology assessments. The Clinical Effectiveness chapter is primarily based on Cochrane’s 2019 update of Searching for and selecting studies (Chapter 4) of the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. The SuRe Info chapter will be updated with new evidence as this becomes available.

Alison Bethel attends Evidence Synthesis Hackathon 2019: April 2019

Alison Bethel attended the Evidence Synthesis Hackathon at the University of New South Wales in Canberra, Australia on 8th-10th April 2019. The blog post can be read here.

Alison Bethel and Morwenna Rogers - authors of a chapter on searching techniques in ‘Systematic Searching – Practical ideas for improving results’: February 2019

Alison Bethel and Morwenna Rogers are authors of a chapter on searching techniques in ‘Systematic Searching – Practical ideas for improving results’ by Facet Publishing. Their chapter is titled ‘Choosing the right databases and search techniques’. Further details can be found here.

Blog post on citation searching: January 2019

Simon Briscoe has written a blog post on his experiences of citation searching for two Exeter HS&DR Evidence Synthesis Centre projects. The blog post can be read here.

Simon Briscoe - co-author of a chapter on searching for programme theories and evidence in ‘Doing Realist Research’: June 2018

Simon Briscoe is a co-author of a chapter on searching for programme theories and evidence in ‘Doing Realist Research’ to be published on the 30th June 2018 by SAGE Publications. Simon’s chapter is titled ‘Scoping and Searching to Support Realist Approaches’ and is co-authored with Andrew Booth (University of Sheffield) and Judy Wright (University of Leeds). Pre-order you copy now from a reputable book dealer!

Finding qualitative studies on dementia: a comparison of 4 databases and search strategies: June 2018

Morwenna and Alison have recently published their research on how to find qualitative studies on dementia efficiently. Their research found that simple strategies for qualitative related terms (like experiences, interviews and questionnaires) worked better than long complex lists of method terms and that CINAHL and PsycINFO were the most useful databases for this topic and study type. The subject headings in CINAHL for qualitative research were found to be particularly useful. The full paper can be read here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jrsm.1280

Searching and Beyond: May 2018

In May, Alison and Morwenna travelled to the Friends Meeting House in London with Becca Abbott from the Evidence Synthesis Team to run our flipped classroom model Searching and Beyond course. The course was for the first time run in collaboration with North Thames NIHR CLAHRC and featured a talk from an IS based at the EPPI-Centre on the use of automation in reviews (https://evidsynthteam.wordpress.com/2018/05/03/searching-and-beyond-trip-to-london/).

Commentary on the loss of NHS EED and DARE is ESMI pick of the month: April 2017

Simon Briscoe and Chris Cooper recently collaborated on a commentary on the loss of NHS EED and DARE. Read more about it here: http://medicine.exeter.ac.uk/esmi/aboutus/esmispaperpick/april2017simonbriscoe/

Simon Briscoe – Cochrane Handbook contribution on web searching: September 2016

At the end of August 2016 I submitted first drafts on web searching, citation chasing and proximity operators for the “Searching for Studies” chapter of the next major revision of the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. The opportunity to contribute to the Cochrane Handbook arose after I presented on web search reporting standards in HTA reviews at the InterTASC ISSG Workshop in July 2014. Carol Lefebvre, editor of the “Searching for Studies” chapter, attended the workshop and invited me to develop my work on web searching in the context of HTA reviews into guidance for Cochrane systematic reviews. I was delighted to do so, and also contributed sections on citation chasing and proximity operators. I presented a preliminary outline of my proposed web searching guidance at the 2015 Cochrane Colloquium.

Alison Bethel - Joint Information Day (JiD): April 2016

In March I was invited to speak at the National Institute for Clinical Evidence’s (NICE) Joint Information Day (JiD) on my current search summary work which I’ve been developing over the last few years. I received a very positive response and I’m now working with a few others from across the UK to test out what I’ve developed. Meanwhile, Jenny has been busy uploading some of these onto our website. This was my first time attending JiD, the day was very informative and stimulated lots of discussions with interesting people. It is always a pleasure to meet and chat with other information professionals and have the opportunity to talk about the detail of what we do. Please visit our Resources section for further details.

Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP)

Launched in 2013, as a partnership of The Nature Conservancy, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at University of California, Santa Barbara, SNAPP is a first-of-its-kind collaboration that delivers evidence-based, scalable solutions to global challenges at the intersection of nature conservation, sustainable development, and human well-being. For more information, please visit http://snappartnership.net/groups/evidence-based-conservation/

This is an ongoing project developing and producing summary tables for the searches at the end of each systematic review where we are the Information Specialist.

Table one summarises:

• which searches in which databases found included references
• which supplementary searching methods found additional included references

Table two summarises:

• whether included references were in the databases but not found from the search carried out

If you are interested in this work please contact a.bethel@exeter.ac.uk