* CORE DATABASES

* PRISMA ARTICLE FLOW DIAGRAM (Use for tracking steps of a systematic search)

* ZOTERO (Use to store items and manage citations)

 Download Zotero client and web connector and then customize your Zotero client before proceeding to the next step.  See document below for recommended preferences.

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* RAYYAN (Use to screen large numbers of citations when you are following the PRISMA Article Flow Diagram)
Rayyan is a free tool available at https://rayyan.qcri.org/.  Zotero works fine as a screening tool for more manageable set of citations.

* CASP and JOANNA BRIGGS (Use to appraise evidence in articles you are using in your research)

To critically appraise evidence, select relevant templates from CASP and Joanna Briggs.  Sometimes you may need to use both tools if your research combines quantitative and qualitative research.

The tools above are complex and require a steep learning curve.  Please don't hesitate to reach out to me for guidance.

The levels of evidence pyramid provides a way to visualize both the quality of evidence and the amount of evidence available. Evidence is broken down into three categories: Critical Appraisal (filtered), Experimental & Observational Studies (unfiltered), and Background Information.  As you go down the pyramid, the amount of evidence increases as the quality of the evidence decreases.

The image to the left is based on the EBM Page Generator (2006) from Dartmouth College and Yale University and the Coursera MOOC “Understanding Clinical Research: Behind the Statistics“ (2016)

• Inclusion/Exclusion Guide - Guide for developing inclusion and exclusion criteria
• Prospero - Registry of systematic reviews.
• Review Types (Research) - A list of common literature review methods
• Step-by-Step Guide to Doing a Systematic Review
• Sample literature review tables