Searching for adverse effects

In these videos from the Cochrane Learning Live webinar series, Dr Su Golder from  the Cochrane Adverse Effects Methods Group (CAEMG) provides guidance for review authors on the available data sources on adverse effects, and how to retrieve data for incorporation into a systematic review.

Information on the adverse effects of health care interventions is important for decision-making by regulators, policy makers, health care professionals, and patients. Serious or important adverse effects may occur rarely and, consequently, systematic reviews and meta-analyses that synthesize harms data from numerous sources can provide greater insights. Yet searching for adverse effects can present many challenges.

This resource addresses: challenges in searching for adverse effects; how to create search strategies for adverse effects; and, where to search for adverse effects.

The webinar is presented by Dr Su Golder, Co-convenor of the Cochrane Adverse Effects Methods Group (CAEMG). Su is a qualified information specialist with over 20 years' experience. Her research interests include the retrieval of adverse effects data for systematic reviews, the identification of unpublished data and the use of social media as an information source. 

The webinar was delivered in May 2017. Below you will find slides from the webinar [PDF] as well as edited videos covering:

  1. Elements of PICO to use
  2. Appropriate free text and indexing terms
  3. Database and non-database sources

Part 1: Elements of PICO to use

 


Part 2: Appropriate free text and indexing terms


Part 3: Database and non-database sources

 


 

Author information: 
Golder, Su; Watts, Chris