PubMed Research Methodology Search Filters and Limits
Updated: May 26
Your search results are only as good as your search. Use a filter to separate the wheat from the chaff!
There will be a separate blog that covers subject oriented filters, such as vaccinations, age groups, etc. Stay tuned!
Be sure you take a look at the blog which gives an overview of search filters/search hedges. It can be found at: About Search Filters.
Run the subject content of the search strategy, then add the search filter and combine. Any additional limits, such as language or publication dates, would follow. Here is an example using the clinical trials search filter:
This also shows the magic of using and. Line 3 returned over 446,600 citations; line 6 returned over 2.72 million! Combining them with and reduced the number to a little over 43,200. Adding in the search filter, then limiting by language and date returns a little under 4,900 citations for potential clinical trials.
Following are research methodology search filters for the National Library of Medicine PubMed database. You cannot use these in other databases unless you first adapt the vocabulary to the database and the syntax to the interface.
All searches have been tested against other filters including earlier versions as well as other filters found online.
Note: Please contact me if you are interested in how I developed and tested these search filters.
Search for the family of reviews & Meta-Analyses
The search below was updated using the typologies of reviews listed in Sutton, Clowes, Preston, & Booth (2019), "Meeting the review family: Exploring review types and associated information retrieval requirements". It is not limited to systematic reviews but also includes scoping reviews, overviews of reviews (also called "umbrella reviews", rapid reviews, narrative reviews, as well as other reviews described in:
Sutton A, Clowes M, Preston L, Booth A. Meeting the review family: exploring review types and associated information retrieval requirements. Health Info Libr J. 2019;36(3):202-22. PubMed record
Updated 26 May 2023: Includes all review types that follow SR methodology (no specific terms for meta-analysis)
("Systematic Review"[Publication Type:NoExp] OR "Systematic Reviews as Topic"[mesh:noexp] OR (("comprehensive"[Title/Abstract] OR "integrated"[Title/Abstract] OR "integrative"[Title/Abstract] OR "mapping"[Title/Abstract] OR "methodology"[Title/Abstract] OR "narrative"[Title/Abstract] OR "scoping"[Title/Abstract] OR "systematic"[Title/Abstract]) AND ("search"[Title/Abstract] OR "searched"[Title/Abstract] OR "searches"[Title/Abstract] OR "studies"[Title/Abstract]) AND ("cinahl"[Title/Abstract] OR "cochrane"[Title/Abstract] OR "embase"[Title/Abstract] OR "psycinfo"[Title/Abstract] OR "pubmed"[Title/Abstract] OR "medline"[Title/Abstract] OR "scopus"[Title/Abstract] OR "web of science"[Title/Abstract] OR "bibliographic review"[Title/Abstract] OR "bibliographic reviews"[Title/Abstract] OR "literature review"[Title/Abstract] OR "literature reviews"[Title/Abstract] OR "literature search"[Title/Abstract] OR "literature searches"[Title/Abstract] OR "narrative review"[Title/Abstract] OR "narrative reviews"[Title/Abstract] OR "qualitative review"[Title/Abstract] OR "qualitative reviews"[Title/Abstract] OR "quantitative review"[Title/Abstract] OR "quantitative reviews"[Title/Abstract])) OR "comprehensive review"[Title/Abstract] OR "comprehensive reviews"[Title/Abstract] OR "comprehensive search"[Title/Abstract] OR "comprehensive searches"[Title/Abstract] OR "critical review"[Title/Abstract] OR "critical reviews"[Title/Abstract] OR "evidence assessment"[Title/Abstract] OR "evidence review"[Title/Abstract] OR "exploratory review"[Title/Abstract] OR "framework synthesis"[Title/Abstract] OR "Integrated review"[Title/Abstract] OR "integrated reviews"[Title/Abstract] OR "integrative review"[Title/Abstract] OR "integrative reviews"[Title/Abstract] OR "mapping review"[Title/Abstract] OR "meta-review"[Title/Abstract] OR "meta-synthesis"[Title/Abstract] OR "methodology review"[Title/Abstract] OR "mixed methods review"[Title/Abstract] OR "mixed methods synthesis"[Title/Abstract] OR "overview reviews"[Title/Abstract:~4] OR ("PRISMA"[Title/Abstract] AND "preferred"[Title/Abstract]) OR "PRISMA-P"[Title/Abstract] OR "prognostic review"[Title/Abstract] OR "psychometric review"[Title/Abstract] OR "rapid evidence assessment"[Title/Abstract] OR "rapid literature review"[Title/Abstract] OR "rapid literature search"[Title/Abstract] OR "rapid realist"[Title/Abstract] OR "rapid review"[Title/Abstract] OR "rapid reviews"[Title/Abstract] OR "realist review"[Title/Abstract] OR "review of reviews"[Title/Abstract] OR "scoping review"[Title/Abstract] OR "scoping reviews"[Title/Abstract] OR "scoping study"[Title/Abstract] OR "state of the art review"[Title/Abstract] OR "systematic evidence map"[Title/Abstract] OR "systematic evidence mapping"[Title/Abstract] OR "systematic literature"[Title/Abstract] OR "systematic Medline"[Title/Abstract] OR "systematic PubMed"[Title/Abstract] OR "systematic review"[Title/Abstract] OR "systematic reviews"[Title/Abstract] OR "systematic search"[Title/Abstract] OR "systematic searches"[Title/Abstract] OR "systematical literature review"[Title/Abstract] OR "systematical review"[Title/Abstract] OR "systematical reviews"[Title/Abstract] OR "systematically identified"[Title/Abstract] OR "systematically review"[Title/Abstract] OR "systematically reviewed"[Title/Abstract] OR "umbrella review"[Title/Abstract] OR "umbrella reviews"[Title/Abstract] OR "Cochrane Database Syst Rev"[ta] OR "evid rep technol assess full rep"[Journal] OR "evid rep technol assess summ"[Journal])
Search for protocols (Added 10 August 2022)
protocol[ti] AND ("Systematic Review"[Publication Type:NoExp] OR "Systematic Reviews as Topic"[mesh:noexp] OR "narrative review"[Title] OR "narrative reviews"[Title] OR "qualitative review"[Title] OR "qualitative reviews"[Title] OR "quantitative review"[Title] OR "quantitative reviews"[Title] OR "comprehensive review"[Title] OR "comprehensive reviews"[Title] OR "comprehensive search"[Title] OR "comprehensive searches"[Title] OR "critical review"[Title] OR "critical reviews"[Title] OR "evidence assessment"[Title] OR "evidence review"[Title] OR "exploratory review"[Title] OR "framework synthesis"[Title] OR "Integrated review"[Title] OR "integrative review"[Title] OR "integrative reviews"[Title] OR "mapping review"[Title] OR "meta-review"[Title] OR "meta-synthesis"[Title] OR "methodology review"[Title] OR "mixed methods review"[Title] OR "mixed methods synthesis"[Title] OR "overview reviews"[Title/Abstract:~4] OR "prognostic review"[Title] OR "psychometric review"[Title] OR "rapid evidence assessment"[Title] OR "rapid literature review"[Title] OR "rapid realist"[Title] OR "rapid review"[Title] OR "rapid reviews"[Title] OR "realist review"[Title] OR "review of reviews"[Title] OR "scoping review"[Title] OR "scoping reviews"[Title] OR "scoping study"[Title] OR "state of the art review"[Title] OR "systematic evidence map"[Title] OR "systematic evidence mapping"[Title] OR "systematic literature"[Title] OR "systematic Medline"[Title] OR "systematic PubMed"[Title] OR "systematic review"[Title] OR "systematic reviews"[Title] OR "umbrella review"[Title] OR "umbrella reviews"[Title])
Just Cochrane reviews
"Cochrane Database Syst Rev"[JO]
Meta-analysis & Network meta-analysis (Updated 25 August 2021)
("meta-analysis as topic"[MESH:NOEXP] OR Meta-Analysis[Publication Type:NoExp] OR meta analyses[ot] OR meta analyses[Title/Abstract] OR meta analysis[ot] OR meta analysis[Title/Abstract] OR meta analytic[ot] OR meta analytic[Title/Abstract] OR meta analytical[ot] OR meta analytical[Title/Abstract] OR meta analytics[ot] OR meta analytics[Title/Abstract] OR meta analyze[ot] OR meta analyze[Title/Abstract] OR (meta[ot] AND analyzed[ot]) OR meta analyzed[Title/Abstract] OR meta regression[ot] OR meta regression[Title/Abstract] OR metaanalyses[ot] OR metaanalyses[Title/Abstract] OR metaanalysis[ot] OR metaanalysis[Title/Abstract] OR metaanalytic[Title/Abstract] OR metaanalyze[Title/Abstract] OR metaanalyzed[Title/Abstract] OR metaregression[ot] OR metaregression[Title/Abstract]) OR ("network meta-analysis"[mesh:noexp] OR "network meta analyses"[TIAB] OR network meta analysis[ot] OR network meta analysis[TIAB] OR indirect treatment comparison[ot] OR indirect treatment comparison[tiab] OR ((((mixed[ot] OR mixed[tiab] OR indirect[ot] OR indirect[tiab] OR indirectly[ot] OR indirectly[tiab]) AND (treatment[ot] OR treatment[tiab] OR treatments[ot] OR treatments[tiab] OR intervention[ot] OR intervention[tiab] OR interventions[ot] OR interventions[tiab] OR therapeutic[ot] OR therapeutic[tiab] OR therapeutics[ot] OR therapeutics[tiab]) AND (comparison[ot] OR comparison[TIAB] OR comparisons[ot] OR comparisons[TIAB])) OR mixed treatment[ot] OR mixed treatment[TIAB] OR mixed treatments[ot] OR mixed treatments[tiab] OR multiple treatment[ot] OR multiple treatment[TIAB] OR multiple treatments[ot] OR multiple treatments[TIAB]) AND ("meta-analysis as topic"[MESH:noexp] OR Meta-Analysis[PTYP] OR (Bayesian[ot] AND statistical[ot]) OR (Bayesian[tiab] AND statistical[tiab]) OR Bayesian statistics[ot] OR Bayesian statistics[tiab] OR meta analyses[ot] OR meta analyses[TIAB] OR meta analysis[ot] OR meta analysis[TIAB] OR meta analytic[ot] OR meta analytic[TIAB] OR meta analytical[ot] OR (meta[ot] AND analytics[ot]) OR meta analytics[TIAB] OR meta analyze[ot] OR meta analyze[TIAB] OR (meta[ot] AND analyzed[ot]) OR meta analyzed[TIAB] OR metaanalyses[ot] OR metaanalyses[TIAB] OR metaanalysis[ot] OR metaanalysis[TIAB] OR metaanalytic[TIAB] OR metaanalytical[tiab] OR metaanalyze[TIAB] OR metaanalyzed[TIAB])))
Just Meta-Analysis (Updated April 9, 2021)
("meta-analysis as topic"[MESH:NOEXP] OR Meta-Analysis[Publication Type:NoExp] OR "network meta-analysis"[mesh:noexp] OR meta analyses[ot] OR meta analyses[tiab] OR meta analysis[tiab] OR meta analysis[tiab] OR meta analytic[ot] OR meta analytic[tiab] OR meta analytical[ot] OR meta analytical[tiab] OR meta analytics[tiab] OR meta analyze[ot] OR meta analyze[tiab] OR (meta[ot] AND analyzed[ot]) OR meta analyzed[tiab] OR meta regression[tiab] OR metaanalyses[ot] OR metaanalyses[tiab] OR metaanalysis[ot] OR metaanalysis[tiab] OR metaanalytic[tiab] OR metaanalyze[tiab] OR metaanalyzed[tiab] OR metaregression[tiab])
Just Network Meta-Analysis (updated August 26, 2021)
("network meta-analysis"[mesh:noexp] OR network meta analyses[ot] OR network meta analyses[Title/Abstract] OR network meta analysis[ot] OR network meta analysis[Title/Abstract] OR indirect treatment comparison[ot] OR indirect treatment comparison[Title/Abstract] OR (("indirect"[ot] OR "indirect"[Title/Abstract] OR "indirectly"[ot] OR "indirectly"[Title/Abstract] OR "mixed"[ot] OR "mixed"[Title/Abstract]) AND ("treatment"[ot] OR "treatment"[Title/Abstract] OR "treatments"[ot] OR "treatments"[Title/Abstract] OR "intervention"[ot] OR "intervention"[Title/Abstract] OR "interventions"[ot] OR "interventions"[Title/Abstract] OR "therapeutic"[ot] OR "therapeutic"[Title/Abstract] OR "therapeutics"[ot] OR "therapeutics"[Title/Abstract]) AND ("comparison"[ot] OR "comparison"[Title/Abstract] OR "comparisons"[ot] OR "comparisons"[Title/Abstract]) AND ("meta-analysis as topic"[MESH:noexp] OR "Meta-Analysis"[PTYP] OR ("Bayesian"[ot] AND "statistical"[ot]) OR ("Bayesian"[Title/Abstract] AND "statistical"[Title/Abstract]) OR "Bayesian statistics"[ot] OR "Bayesian statistics"[Title/Abstract] OR "meta analyses"[ot] OR "meta analyses"[Title/Abstract] OR "meta analysis"[ot] OR "meta analysis"[Title/Abstract] OR "meta analytic"[ot] OR "meta analytic"[Title/Abstract] OR "meta analytical"[ot] OR ("meta"[ot] AND "analytics"[ot]) OR "meta analytics"[Title/Abstract] OR "meta analyze"[ot] OR "meta analyze"[Title/Abstract] OR ("meta"[ot] AND "analyzed"[ot]) OR "meta analyzed"[Title/Abstract] OR "metaanalyses"[ot] OR "metaanalyses"[Title/Abstract] OR "metaanalysis"[ot] OR "metaanalysis"[Title/Abstract] OR "metaanalytic"[Title/Abstract] OR "metaanalytical"[Title/Abstract] OR "metaanalyze"[Title/Abstract] OR "metaanalyzed"[Title/Abstract])))
OLDER VERSION Just Network Meta-Analysis (December 2020)
("network meta-analysis"[mesh:noexp] OR "network meta analyses"[TIAB] OR network meta analysis[ot] OR network meta analysis[TIAB] OR indirect treatment comparison[ot] OR indirect treatment comparison[tiab] OR ((((mixed[ot] OR mixed[tiab] OR indirect[ot] OR indirect[tiab] OR indirectly[ot] OR indirectly[tiab]) AND (treatment[ot] OR treatment[tiab] OR treatments[ot] OR treatments[tiab] OR intervention[ot] OR intervention[tiab] OR interventions[ot] OR interventions[tiab] OR therapeutic[ot] OR therapeutic[tiab] OR therapeutics[ot] OR therapeutics[tiab]) AND (comparison[ot] OR comparison[TIAB] OR comparisons[ot] OR comparisons[TIAB])) OR mixed treatment[ot] OR mixed treatment[TIAB] OR mixed treatments[ot] OR mixed treatments[tiab] OR multiple treatment[ot] OR multiple treatment[TIAB] OR multiple treatments[ot] OR multiple treatments[TIAB]) AND ("meta-analysis as topic"[MESH:noexp] OR Meta-Analysis[PTYP] OR (Bayesian[ot] AND statistical[ot]) OR (Bayesian[tiab] AND statistical[tiab]) OR Bayesian statistics[ot] OR Bayesian statistics[tiab] OR meta analyses[ot] OR meta analyses[TIAB] OR meta analysis[ot] OR meta analysis[TIAB] OR meta analytic[ot] OR meta analytic[TIAB] OR meta analytical[ot] OR (meta[ot] AND analytics[ot]) OR meta analytics[TIAB] OR meta analyze[ot] OR meta analyze[TIAB] OR (meta[ot] AND analyzed[ot]) OR meta analyzed[TIAB] OR metaanalyses[ot] OR metaanalyses[TIAB] OR metaanalysis[ot] OR metaanalysis[TIAB] OR metaanalytic[TIAB] OR metaanalytical[tiab] OR metaanalyze[TIAB] OR metaanalyzed[TIAB])))
Publication type=Review
Review articles are frequently assigned the Review publication type to indicate the type of article. The search below will find articles that are general reviews of the literature as well as some systematic reviews
review[PTYP]
Retractions, Withdrawals, Corrections, Comments, Replies to comments (Updated May 18, 2021)
("retraction of publication"[PTYP] OR Published Erratum[PTYP] OR comment[PTYP] OR comment[ti] OR comments[ti] OR correction[ti] OR corrections[ti] OR "expression of concern"[ti] OR replies[ti] OR reply[ti] OR ((retraction[ti] OR withdrawal[ti]) AND (note[ti] or notice[ti])))
Note: When completing a systematic review, use this search after article review and study selection but before coding. You will need to be creative as there is no consistency in how the record appears.
EX: Consider doing a search with the author's name as well as a search with keywords from the title & abstract, then combine with OR to view the full list.
wakefield aj[au] AND ("retraction of publication"[PTYP] OR Published Erratum[PTYP] OR comment[PTYP] OR comment[ti] OR comments[ti] OR correction[ti] OR corrections[ti] OR "expression of concern"[ti] OR replies[ti] OR reply[ti] OR ((retraction[ti] OR withdrawal[ti]) AND (note[ti] or notice[ti])))
((measles[tiab] OR mmr[tiab]) AND autism[tiab]) AND ("retraction of publication"[PTYP] OR Published Erratum[PTYP] OR comment[PTYP] OR comment[ti] OR comments[ti] OR correction[ti] OR corrections[ti] OR "expression of concern"[ti] OR replies[ti] OR reply[ti] OR ((retraction[ti] OR withdrawal[ti]) AND (note[ti] or notice[ti])))
#1 OR #2
Also, be sure you check out RetractionWatch (https://retractionwatch.com/). "Tracking retractions as a window into the scientific process"
Clinical trials (updated 4/15/2019)
("Clinical Trial" [PTYP:NoExp] OR "Adaptive Clinical Trial" [PTYP:NoExp] OR "clinical trial, phase i"[PTYP] OR "clinical trial, phase ii"[PTYP] OR "clinical trial, phase iii"[PTYP] OR "clinical trial, phase iv"[PTYP] OR "controlled clinical trial"[PTYP] OR "multicenter study"[PTYP] OR "randomized controlled trial"[PTYP] OR "Clinical Trials as Topic"[mesh:noexp] OR "clinical trials, phase i as topic"[MeSH:noexp] OR "clinical trials, phase ii as topic"[MeSH:noexp] OR "clinical trials, phase iii as topic"[MeSH:noexp] OR "clinical trials, phase iv as topic"[MeSH:noexp] OR "controlled clinical trials as topic"[MeSH:noexp] OR "Non-Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic"[MeSH:noexp] OR "randomized controlled trials as topic"[MeSH:noexp] OR "Equivalence Trials as Topic"[MeSH:noexp] OR "Intention to Treat Analysis"[MeSH:noexp] OR "Pragmatic Clinical Trials as Topic"[MeSH:noexp] OR "early termination of clinical trials"[MeSH:noexp] OR "multicenter studies as topic"[MeSH:noexp] OR “Double-Blind Method”[Mesh] OR "phase I"[tiab] OR "phase II"[tiab] OR "phase III"[tiab] OR "phase IV"[tiab] OR "phase 1"[tiab] OR "phase 2"[tiab] OR "phase 3"[tiab] OR "phase 4"[tiab] OR ((randomised[TIAB] OR randomized[TIAB]) AND (trial[TIAB] OR trials[tiab])) OR ((single[TIAB] OR double[TIAB] OR doubled[TIAB] OR triple[TIAB] OR tripled[TIAB] OR treble[TIAB] OR treble[TIAB]) AND (blind*[TIAB] OR mask*[TIAB])) OR ("4 arm"[tiab] OR "four arm"[tiab]))
Comparative studies (updated 8/8/2018)
This is a tough filter to do. The scope note from NLM for this study type is: “Comparison of outcomes, results, responses, etc for different techniques, therapeutic approaches or other inputs”; figuring out the right terms is complicated. Consider this a high-yield start to a search filter with probably a somewhat lower sensitivity (we're guessing ~80%) and higher specificity.
("comparative study"[PT:NOEXP] OR comparative[TIAB] OR "compared to"[TIAB] OR comparing[TIAB] OR comparison[TIAB])
Program evaluation/quasi-experimental studies (updated April 13, 2021)
(evaluation study[PT:NOEXP] OR "evaluation studies as topic"[MESH:NOEXP] OR "program evaluation"[MESH:NOEXP] OR validation study[PT:NOEXP] OR "validation studies as topic"[MESH:NOEXP] OR (pre-[TIAB] AND post-[TIAB]) OR (pretest[TIAB] AND posttest[TIAB]) OR ((intervention[tiab] OR program*[TIAB]) AND (behavior[tiab] OR behavioral[tiab] OR behaviour[tiab] OR behavioural[tiab] OR education[tiab] OR evaluate[TIAB] OR evaluated[TIAB] OR evaluates[TIAB] OR evaluating[TIAB] OR evaluation[TIAB] OR evaluations[TIAB] OR evaluator[TIAB] OR evaluators[TIAB] OR effective[tiab] OR effectiveness[TIAB])))
Quality improvement (updated April 14, 2022)
(("Quality Improvement"[Mesh] OR "implementation research"[tiab] OR "improve quality"[tiab] OR "improving quality"[tiab] OR "knowledge translation"[tiab] OR "pay for performance"[tiab] OR "performance improvement"[tiab] OR "quality assurance"[tiab] OR "quality improvement"[tiab] OR "quality improvements"[tiab] OR "quality indicator"[tiab] OR "quality indicators"[tiab] OR "quality measure"[tiab] OR "quality measures"[tiab] OR "quality metric"[tiab] OR "quality metrics"[tiab] OR "rapid cycle change"[tiab] OR "rapid cycle changes"[tiab] OR "report card"[tiab] OR "right care"[tiab] OR "six sigma"[tiab] OR squire[tiab]))
Epidemiologic Studies
NOTE: A word of caution for the next set of filters: Authors do not always use the appropriate terminology when describing their epidemiologic studies. This is true for the above as well, but we have noticed that the following study types are more frequently not identified as such in their titles or citations. Not only that, but a retrospective study can be a type of cohort study or it can be a type of case-control study! Use these filters with some caution. They will locate the kids of study they should, but only when the author knows what kind of study they have done and has described it as such!
Case-control studies (reviewed 8/8/2018)
(Case-Control Studies[MESH:NOEXP] OR Control Groups[MESH:NOEXP] OR Matched-Pair Analysis[MESH:NOEXP] OR (case*[TIAB] AND control*[TIAB]) OR (case[TIAB] AND comparison*[TIAB]) OR control group*[TIAB])
Cohort studies (updated 8/6/2018)
(cohort studies[mesh:noexp] OR longitudinal studies[mesh:noexp] OR follow-up studies[mesh:noexp] OR prospective studies[mesh:noexp] OR retrospective studies[mesh:noexp] OR cohort[TIAB] OR longitudinal[TIAB] OR prospective[TIAB])
Cross sectional studies (updated 1 February 2023)
(Cross-Sectional Studies[mesh:noexp] OR Prevalence[mesh:noexp] OR (association[tiab] and (studies[tiab] OR study[tiab])) OR cross-sectional[tiab] OR prevalence[tiab] OR transversal[tiab] OR association[ti] OR associations[ti])
Below is a search for biomarkers and sepsis association and cross sectional studies.
Incidence studies (updated 8/78/2018)
(Incidence[MESH:NOEXP] OR incidence[TIAB] OR incidences[TIAB])
Prevalence studies (updated 8/7/2018)
(Prevalence[MESH:NOEXP] OR cross-sectional studies[MESH:NOEXP] OR prevalence[TIAB] OR prevalences[TIAB])
Qualitative studies (updated 8/8/2018)
(focus groups[MESH:NOEXP] OR "interviews as topic"[MESH:NOEXP] OR narration[MESH:NOEXP] OR qualitative research[MESH:NOEXP] OR ethnograph*[TIAB] OR "field work"[TIAB] OR fieldwork[TIAB] OR focus group*[TIAB] OR key informant*[TIAB] OR qualitative[TIAB] OR (((face-to-face[TIAB] OR guided[TIAB] OR in-depth[TIAB] OR indepth[TIAB] OR semi-structured[TIAB] OR structured[TIAB] OR unstructured[TIAB]) AND (discussion*[TIAB] OR interview*[TIAB] OR questionnaire*[TIAB]))))
Quality improvement (updated April 13, 2021)
("Quality Improvement"[Mesh] OR "implementation research"[tiab] OR "improve quality"[tiab] OR "improving quality"[tiab] OR "knowledge translation"[tiab] OR "pay for performance"[tiab] OR "performance improvement"[tiab] OR "quality assurance"[tiab] OR "quality improvement"[tiab] OR "quality improvements"[tiab] OR "quality indicator"[tiab] OR "quality indicators"[tiab] OR "quality measure"[tiab] OR "quality measures"[tiab] OR "quality metric"[tiab] OR "quality metrics"[tiab] OR "rapid cycle change"[tiab] OR "rapid cycle changes"[tiab] OR "report card"[tiab] OR "right care"[tiab] OR "six sigma"[tiab] OR squire[tiab])
Guidelines/Recommendations (updated December 15, 2020)
(guidelines as topic[MeSH:noexp] OR practice guidelines as topic[MeSH:noexp] OR Health Planning Guidelines[MeSH:noexp] OR practice guideline[MeSH:noexp] OR clinical protocols[MeSH:noexp] OR Consensus[MeSH:noexp] OR "Consensus Development Conference"[PTYP] OR "Consensus Development Conference, NIH"[PTYP] OR "Consensus Development Conferences as Topic"[MeSH:noexp] OR "Consensus Development Conferences, NIH as Topic"[MeSH:noexp] OR critical pathway[MeSH:noexp] OR (clinical[TIAB] AND pathway[TIAB]) OR (clinical[TIAB] AND pathways[TIAB]) OR (practice[TIAB] AND parameter[TIAB]) OR (practice[TIAB] AND parameters[TIAB]) OR algorithms[MeSH:noexp] OR care pathway[TIAB] OR care pathways[TIAB] OR guidance[TIAB] OR guideline*[TI])
Limits using NOT-NOT
Limit to US studies (updated December 2, 2020)
Run your search as usual. Copy the statement below and paste into the search text box AT THE END OF YOUR SEARCH PHRASE.
NOT ((africa[MESH] OR asia[MESH] OR australia[MESH] OR canada[MESH] OR central america[mesh] OR europe[MESH] OR south america[MESH]) NOT (north america[MESH:NOEXP] OR united states[MESH]))
Limit to Human Studies (December 8, 2020)
Avoid checking selecting the limit to human studies-- you are limiting to a MeSH term. The newest, most current citations do not have MeSH terms. Consequently, you are kicking out the most recent research by using the human limiter. The following method does not do that. You will not remove 100% of the animal studies! But you also won't lose the most recent human studies. Run your search as usual. Copy the statement below and paste into the search text box AT THE END OF YOUR SEARCH PHRASE.
NOT (animals[mesh] NOT humans[mesh]
Limit by age groups (updated April 20, 2020)
The following method removes a significant number of studies (but NOT all) by age groups-- but it won't be 100%.
The image below shows the original search (9,559 items: smoking/tobacco/vaping AND asthma). Limits by age groups are applied to the results.
Run your search as usual. Copy the appropriate statement below and paste into the search text box AT THE END OF YOUR SEARCH PHRASE.
Remove infant, child, and adolescent studies, keep adult studies
NOT ((infant[mesh] OR child[mesh] OR adolescent[mesh]) NOT adult[mesh])
Remove infant and child studies, keep adolescent AND adult studies
NOT ((infant[mesh] OR child[mesh]) NOT (adolescent[mesh] AND adult[mesh]))
Remove child, adolescent, AND adult studies, keep infant studies
NOT ((child[mesh] OR adolescent[mesh] OR adult[mesh]) NOT infant[mesh])