Specialised register

EPOC methodological search filters

     CINAHL           EMBASE            MEDLINE

How the register was built

Studies within EPOC's scope are hard to identify because they are poorly indexed in bibliographic databases, and relevant articles are found in a wide range of journals (there are studies in our specialised register from over 400 different journal titles). Furthermore, there are specific difficulties relating to the identification of non-randomised studies.

A 'gold standard' of studies known to be within the scope of EPOC has been created and was used to assist in the development of the search strategy. The gold standard comprises studies identified by handsearching Medical Care (1969-95), BMJ (1992-94) and by full text searching from the Ovid Biomedical Core Collection all original and miscellaneous articles from Annals of Internal Medicine, BMJ, JAMA and Lancet (1995-96). The resulting strategy, measured against the gold standard, has a sensitivity of 92.4% and precision rate of 18.5%.  The MEDLINE strategy was updated in October 2007 and is available from the link above.  A review and update of the CINAHL strategy is underway as of February 2008.

We have completed retrospective searching of MEDLINE back to 1966 and HealthSTAR back to 1975, EMBASE back to 1980 and CINAHL back to 1982, for studies that may meet the EPOC inclusion criteria. The full text of these articles are read and, if confirmed to be within EPOC's scope, added to our specialised register. Using OVID's online service, new records in MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL are searched monthly for additional studies. The CENTRAL database in the Cochrane Library is searched every six months for studies relevant to our group. We also scan the contents lists of several key journals. 

For questions about the register or search strategies, please contact:

                 Doug Salzwedel
                 Trials Search Co-ordinator - Ottawa
                 Cochrane EPOC Group
                 Email: dsalzwed doesnotexist@cochrane.org uottawa.ca

                 Marit Johansen
                 Trials Search Co-ordinator - Oslo
                 Cochrane EPOC Group
                 Email: marit.johansen doesnotexist@cochrane.org kunnskapssenteret.no