Now that you have formulated a question and identified the best study type to answer your question, the next step is selecting an appropriate resource to search.
Start your search at the top of the hierarchy of evidence and work down. The higher up the hierarchy of evidence, the more reliable the evidence in answering clinical queries. Start at the top of the hierarchy and continue down until you find the answers you need.
The higher up the hierarchy of evidence, the more reliable the evidence in answering clinical queries. Start at the top of the hierarchy and continue down until you find the answers you need.
Secondary Resources
These resources include evidence summaries, syntheses and individual article synopses of primary studies. These appraise the quality of studies and often make recommendations for practice.
For evidence summaries and clinical guidelines:
For syntheses:
If you can't find what you need, search in primary resources.
Primary Resources
These resources contain original primary studies that you will need to appraise yourself.
This includes meta analyses, randomised controlled trials, cohort studies, case-controlled studies, case series and reports, background information and expert opinion.
You can filter for systematic reviews and other types of studies in most clinical databases.
The TRIP database searches secondary and primary studies simultaneously.
| Formulate your question | PICO or other |
| List key terms |
What terms best describe each of the searchable concepts in your PICO? |
| Choose most appropriate resource | see Where to Search box on this page |
| Search each concept separately | Remember that the PICO search strategy will usually include a search on P, I and C if applicable. |
| Combine search sets | After searching each term or concept, combine your searches using OR for like terms, AND to combine different concepts. See the Boolean tutorial for more information on how to combine your searches to find the most relevant results. |
|
Apply limits & filters |
Common limits are English language, Date range and Human. Apply filters for type of study or type of question. |
| Review results | If too many irrelevant results, consider adding another term or concept. If not enough results, you may need to try a different term or different database. For help, contact the library |
| Re-run search if necessary | Repeat above steps and re-run search with new terms or in a new database. STOP when you find relevant evidence you can apply. |
For more information, see Tutorials
| PICOTT | Concepts | Search Strategy |
| Patient or problem | Parkinson's Disease | Parkinson's Disease, tremor, bradykinesia |
| Intervention | Bicycling | Bicycling, cycling, stationary bike riding, assisted bike riding, bicycling exercise , asymmetrical pedaling, high-speed cycling intervals, rehabilitation/exercise, neurobehavioral model ....more |
| Comparison | Nil | |
| Outcome | Reduce Tremor | |
| Question Type | Therapy | Therapy |
| Study Type | Randomised Controlled Trial or Cohort Study | RCTs or cohort studies or case series Note: As this is an emerging area, it is unlikely that you will find RCTs or a systematic review. You may need to search further down the hierarchy for different types of clinical studies. |