Database sheet
Each database has its own specific rules that you must know and follow in order to get the answers that you are looking for when you are using the database's search interface. Typically you will find that kind of support information in the database's help section. Here you will find the database sheet that the search consultation group at KIB uses when performing systematic searches in Medline (Ovid), Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL, PsycInfo, Cochrane and PubMed.
| Databases (platform) | Medline (Ovid) | Embase (embase.com) | Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics) |
CINAHL, PsycInfo (EBSCO) | Cochrane (Wiley) | PubMed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boolean operators | AND, OR, NOT | AND, OR, NOT | AND, OR, NOT | AND, OR, NOT | AND, OR, NOT | AND, OR, NOT |
| Controlled vocabulary |
MeSH Exploded: Non-exploded: |
Emtree Exploded: |
Has no controlled vocabulary, free-text only |
C: CINAHL Subject Headings Non-exploded: P: APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms Just possible non-exploded: |
MeSH Exploded: Non-exploded: |
MeSH Exploded: Non-exploded: |
| Free-text | exercise.ti,ab,kf. | exercise:ti,ab,kw | Topic = Title, Abstract, Author Keywords & Keywords Plus |
C: TI exercise OR AB exercise P: TI exercise OR AB exercise OR KW exercise |
exercise:ab,ti,kw | exercise[tiab] |
| Phrase searching (remember that hyphens are the same as blank spaces, not a character) |
Quotation marks not needed | "double quotation marks" | "double quotation marks" | "double quotation marks" | "double quotation marks", but NEXT when using truncation | "double quotation marks" |
| Proximity operators (note: the number of words is not consistant between the different databases) | (exercise adj3 therapy) = 2 or fewer words in between, no matter the order of words | (exercise NEAR/3 therapy) = 2 or fewer words in between, no matter the order of words. NEXT/3 = fixed word order |
(exercise NEAR/3 therapy) = 3 or fewer words in between, no matter the order of words. Warning: it disregards the semicolon between "Keywords". | (exercise N3 therapy) = 3 or fewer words in between, no matter the order of words. W3 = fixed word order |
(exercise NEAR/3 therapy) = 2 or fewer words in between, no matter the order of words. NEXT/3 = fixed word order |
- |
| Truncation | * = in phrases; right truncation ? = 0-1 letter/number # = 1 letter/number |
* = in phrases; right truncation $ = 0-1 letter/number ? = 1 letter/number |
* = in phrases; left and right truncation $ = 0-1 letter/number ? = 1 letter/number |
* = in phrases; right truncation # = 0-1 letter/number ? = 1 letter/number |
* = use next in phrases; right truncation ? = 0-1 bokstav/siffra |
* = in phrases, but the truncated term must be the last word in the phrase; right truncation |
| Exclude animal studies | NOT (animals NOT humans).sh. | NOT ([animals]/lim NOT [humans]/lim) | - | - | - | NOT (animals[mesh] NOT humans[mesh]) |
| Floating subheadings | therapy.fs. | therapy:lnk | - | MW "TH" | [mh /TH] (will not be exploded) | therapy[sh] |
| Hints & varnings | Use or/1-5 to gather multiple search rows | - | Tick the "exact search" box in the advanced search interface, or use quotation marks, to avoid lemmatization | P: It is only possible to explode Subject Headings to the first level of narrower terms | To exclude protocols, search: NOT (clinicaltrials or trialsearch):so | Has a phrase index, so phrases are not always included. Automatic phrase searching when limit to fields, for example [tiab] |
| Exporting references (maximum number of references in each export file) | Max 5 000 Write in the "Select range" box; choose "EndNote" and "Complete Reference". |
Personal account required for data export. Max 10 000. Click "Export" and "RIS format..." | Max 1 000. Choose "Save to EndNote desktop" or RIS. | Max 25 000 via e-mail (under "Export results" & "RIS Format") or choose "Page Options", "50" & "Add to folder". | Choose "Select all" and "Export selected citation(s)". Choose "RIS (EndNote)", "Include abstract" and "Download". | Max 10 000. Choose "Send to" and "Citation Manager". |
| Endnote "Import Options" (you can also try double-clicking the file) | "MEDLINE (OvidSP)" | "RefMan RIS" | "Web of Science Core Collection (TR)" | "RefMan RIS" | "Reference Manager (RIS)". Note: every subdatabase is exported separately. | "PubMed (NLM)" |
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