Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2003 Apr;46(2):136-41.

Users' guide to the surgical literature: how to perform a literature search

Daniel W Birch  1 , Angela Eady, Don Robertson, Sonja De Pauw, Ved Tandan; Evidence-Based Surgery Working Group
Affiliations

Users' guide to the surgical literature: how to perform a literature search

Daniel W Birch et al. Can J Surg. 2003 Apr.

Erratum in

  • Can J Surg. 2003 Aug 15;46(4):250
No abstract available

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

None
FIG. 1. Example algorithm for carrying out a literature search. DVT = deep vein thrombosis; PICO = problem, intervention, comparison, outcome; RCTs = randomized controlled trials.
None
FIG. 2. Home page of the PubMed search engine for searching MEDLINE. Copyright of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Md.
None
FIG. 3. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews. Prepared and published by Update Software, Oxford, UK.
None
FIG. 4. Abstract of an article on thromboprophylaxis in colorectal surgery obtained from the Cochrane Library. Prepared and published by Update Software, Oxford, UK.
None
FIG. 5. A sample worksheet for literature searches.
None
FIG. 6. Setting search limits in the PubMed search engine. Copyright of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Md.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Guyatt GH, Meade MO, Jaeschke RZ, Cook DJ, Haynes RB. Practitioners of evidence based care. Not all clinicians need to appraise evidence from scratch but all need some skills. BMJ 2000;320:954-5. - PMC - PubMed
    1. McKibbon A, Eady A, Marks S. PDQ Evidence-based principles and practice. Hamilton (ON): B.C. Decker; 1999.
    1. Sackett DL, Straus SE, Richardson WS, Rosenberg W, Haynes RB, editors. Evidence-based medicine: how to practice and teach EBM. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Churchill Livingstone; 2000.
    1. Hunt DL, Jaeschke R, McKibbon. Users' guides to the medical literature: XXI. Using electronic health information resources in evidence-based practice. Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group. JAMA 2000;283:1875-9. - PubMed
    1. Guyatt G, Rennie D, editors. Users' guides to the medical literature: a manual for evidence-based clinical practice. Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group. Chicago: American Medical Association Press; 2002. p. 27-38.