Building a Reproducible Search String

Building the search string step by step: Step 1 — List your PICO concepts (from L3_2_01) Step 2 — For each concept, gather MeSH terms and free-text synonyms (from L3_2_01 and L3_2_02) Step 3 — Combine synonyms with OR within each concept Step 4 — Combine concepts with AND Step 5 — Apply field tags Step 6 — Document everything Example — complete search for metformin in type 2 diabetes cardiovascular outcomes: Line 1 (Population — MeSH): "Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2"[MeSH] Line 2 (Population — free text): ("type 2 diabetes" OR T2DM OR "type II diabetes" OR NIDDM OR "non-insulin dependent diabetes" OR "adult onset diabetes")[tiab] Line 3 (Population combined): #1 OR #2 Line 4 (Intervention — MeSH): "Metformin"[MeSH] Line 5 (Intervention — free text): (metformin OR Glucophage OR dimethylbiguanide)[tiab] Line 6 (Intervention combined): #4 OR #5 Line 7 (Final): #3 AND #6 Documentation requirements: For a systematic review, PRISMA requires you to report: - The exact search string used for each database - The database searched and its platform (e.g., PubMed via pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) - The date the search was run - Any filters or limits applied - The number of results retrieved This documentation goes in the Methods section and/or a supplementary appendix. It ensures transparency and allows peer reviewers (and future researchers) to verify your work. Adapting for different databases: The search string syntax differs across databases. PubMed uses [MeSH] and [tiab]; Embase uses /exp and :ab,ti; Cochrane uses its own syntax. You must translate your search for each database. Tip: Write your PubMed search first (it is the most commonly used), then translate it to other databases.