Research Guides: Evidence Based Practice for Allied Health Sciences: Step 3: Acquire

Filtered Resources

These results you find in these databases have already been analyzed and you are receiving the best results, but you may be missing some more recent research that has not yet been reviewed and filtered. If you are looking for filtered results, you can search the following:

TRIP Database This link opens in a new window
Locate high quality, evidence based medical literature using this metasearch engine.
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (EBM Reviews via Ovid) This link opens in a new window
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews includes the full text of the regularly updated systematic reviews of the effects of healthcare prepared by The Cochrane Collaboration.
Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (EBM Reviews via Ovid) This link opens in a new window
The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) serves as the most comprehensive source of reports of controlled trials. CENTRAL is published as part of The Cochrane Library, is updated quarterly, and contains citations to reports of trials and other studies potentially eligible for inclusion in Cochrane reviews.
OTSeeker This link opens in a new window
OTseeker is a database that contains abstracts of systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials relevant to occupational therapy. Trials have been critically appraised and rated to assist you to evaluate their validity and interpretability. These ratings will help you to judge the quality and usefulness of trials for informing clinical interventions. In one database, OTseeker provides you with fast and easy access to trials from a wide range of sources.
PEDro Physiotherapy Evidence Database This link opens in a new window
PEDro includes clinical trials and systematic reviews on the effectiveness of physiotherapy interventions published in peer reviewed journals. All items are scored on methodological quality, and search results are ranked by methodological score. From the Centre for Evidence-Based Physiotherapy at the University of Sydney.
Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (EBM Reviews via Ovid) This link opens in a new window
The Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE) contains critical assessments of systematic reviews from a variety of medical journals. DARE is produced by the expert reviewers and information staff of the National Health Services' Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (NHS CRD) at the University of York, England, and covers topics such as diagnosis, prevention, rehabilitation, screening, and treatment.
ACP Journal Club (EBM Reviews via Ovid) This link opens in a new window
ACP Journal Club includes the complete text of ACP Journal Club (1991-date) and BMJ's Evidence Based Medicine (1995-1999), which contain reviews of the most methodologically sound, clinically relevant articles from the top internal medicine, pediatric, ob/gyn, ophthalmology, psychiatry, and surgery journals.

Acquire

Acquire Information

Levels of Evidence

The level of evidence you need will determine where you will search. It is always a good idea to use the highest available level of evidence in your results. The resources you use can be divided into two categories: filtered and unfiltered. High quality filtered studies are preferred, but are not always the most appropriate.

Study Types

What Type Of Study Should I Look For?

Type of Question	Suggested Study
Clinical	Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis
Diagnostic Testing	Prospective, blind comparison to Gold Standard
Prognosis	Cohort Study > Case Control > Case Series
Therapy	RCT > Cohort Study > Case Control > Case Series
Etiology/Harm	RCT > Cohort Study > Case Control > Case Series
Prevention	RCT > Cohort Study > Case Control > Case Series
Cost	Economic Analysis

Image from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Research_design_and_evidence.svg

Conducting Your Search

Once you have selected the databases you wish to search, you will combine the keywords you identified when creating your PICOT question and search for them in the databases. For more information about the searching process, see:

Search Basics for the Health Sciences

Unfiltered Resources

If you cannot find filtered results for your search or you want to check more recent research, you might want to check through unfiltered resources. These resources contain primary research that has not been analyzed. Many are also specific to certain topics. Select your databases carefully The ECU list of databases provides information to help you select the appropriate database for your search. The following resources contain unfiltered results:

AccessMedicine This link opens in a new window
AccessMedicine provides students, residents, clinicians, and researchers with instant answers to clinical questions from the most trusted sources to keep pace with the changing practice of medicine.
CINAHL Complete This link opens in a new window
CINAHL covers the literature related to nursing and allied health fields, which include physical and radiologic therapy; cardiopulmonary, medical and laboratory technology; occupational therapy; radiologic technology; social assisting; the physician's assistant; surgical technology; and health education. CINAHL subject headings reflect the terminology used by nursing and allied health professionals, and approximately 70% of CINAHL headings also appear in MEDLINE.
CINAHL covers the literature related to nursing and allied health fields, which include physical and radiologic therapy; cardiopulmonary, medical and laboratory technology; occupational therapy; radiologic technology; social assisting; the physician's assistant; surgical technology; and health education. CINAHL subject headings reflect the terminology used by nursing and allied health professionals, and approximately 70% of CINAHL headings also appear in MEDLINE.
ClinicalKey This link opens in a new window
ClinicalKey is a clinical insight engine designed to quickly return point-of-care, educational, and research information with a single keyword search. MEDLINE citations, research articles, book chapters, point-of-care summaries, images, charts, graphs, and video procedures are all included in result sets. ClinicalKey replaces Elsevier's longstanding MD Consult, Procedures Consult, and First Consult platforms.
MEDLINE via PubMed This link opens in a new window
This is the National Library of Medicine's interface for MEDLINE, which provides authoritative medical information on medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, pre-clinical sciences, and much more. Created by the National Library of Medicine, MEDLINE uses MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) indexing with tree, tree hierarchy, subheadings and explosion capabilities to search citations from current biomedical journals.
This is the National Library of Medicine's interface for MEDLINE, which provides authoritative medical information on medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, pre-clinical sciences, and much more. Created by the National Library of Medicine, MEDLINE uses MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) indexing with tree, tree hierarchy, subheadings and explosion capabilities to search citations from current biomedical journals.
PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
From the American Psychological Association (APA). Includes blend of abstracts, indexes and links to full-text of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations. Topics include: applied psychology, communication systems, developmental psychology, educational psychology, experimental human and animal psychology, personality, psychological and physical disorders, physiological psychology and neuroscience, professional personnel and issues, psychometrics and statistics, social psychology, social processes and issues, sports psychology and leisure and treatment and prevention. Ninety-seven percent of the covered material is peer-reviewed. Journal coverage includes international material selected from periodicals in multiple languages. Content spans 1597 – present. Click here for a guide to this database.