This section should flow naturally from the criteria that have been established to this point, and particularly from the objective and questions the review seeks to address. As reviews of opinion do not draw on published research as the principal designs of interest, the reference is to types of ‘text’ or ‘narrative’ publications, rather than types of ‘studies’.
Searching for text and opinion evidence
As recommended in all JBI types of reviews, a three-step search strategy should be utilized, and detailed in this section of the protocol. A research librarian should be consulted to assist with development of a search strategy for textual evidence.
There are a range of databases that are relevant to finding expert opinion based literature. Examples include CINAHL, PubMed, CRD database from the NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York, PsycINFO, and National Guideline Clearing House. Grey literature searching is also of importance in a text and opinion review, depending on the clinical focus. Government websites, and contacting relevant organizations may also be beneficial in developing your search strategy. The search strategy of the published and unpublished literature also depends on the types of text specified in the inclusion criteria.
Search terms for text and opinion papers
Search filters are pre-tested strategies that identify articles based on criteria such as specified words in the title, abstract and keywords e.g. testimony, expert opinion. They can be of use to restrict the number of articles identified from the vast amount of literature in the major databases. Search filters look for sources according to relevance, not the quality of the article or citation itself. Quality judgments are performed separately and require skills in critical appraisal.
As with all types of systematic reviews conducted through JBI, the search strategy does need to reflect current international standards for best practice in literature searching. JBI SUMARI includes the following editable statement on searching:
The search strategy aims to find both published and unpublished studies. A three-step search strategy will be utilized in this review. An initial limited search of MEDLINE and CINAHL will be undertaken followed by analysis of the text words contained in the title and abstract, and of the index terms used to describe article. A second search using all identified keywords and index terms will then be undertaken across all included databases. Thirdly, the reference list of all identified reports and articles will be searched for additional studies. Studies published in #insert language(s)# will be considered for inclusion in this review. Studies published #insert dates# will be considered for inclusion in this review.
The databases to be searched include:
#insert text#
The search for unpublished studies will include:
#insert text#
Initial keywords to be used will be:
#insert text#
The protocol should also include a list of databases to be searched. If unpublished papers are to be included, the specific strategies to identify them are also described, and lists of key words per database are also recorded.