Show Your Work! How to Document and Report Search Strategies for Gold Standard Systematic Reviews: The Course

Date: Tuesday, April 29, 2025, 1:00pm–4:00pm

All courses will take place on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Pittsburgh, PA. Courses are not available virtually.

To register, see MLA ’25 Registration

Documentation got you down? Have no fear! This course will show you exactly what to track and how to track it for unimpeachable systematic review search reporting. Whether you are new to working on reviews or want to stay current on emerging best practices, this course can help you confidently record the most important information about your search methods with the right amount of detail, while keeping all your documentation organized.

Since small search operators can have a big impact on your search results, you’ll learn to hone in on the search decisions that may need approval from the review team. And because inclusive language matters, you’ll explore the importance of documenting the context for selecting search terms related to equity groups, especially when those terms are antiquated.

Review methods are rapidly evolving, particularly with the increased use of AI tools for evidence synthesis, sometimes outpacing updates to reporting standards. This course will give you a solid foundation in reporting principles and approaches so that you can accurately and transparently track and describe new and emerging methods in your manuscripts.

Through scenario-based learning exercises, you’ll learn why documentation is important and how it can help you prevent and manage common challenges that arise during the review process. Once we’ve gone over the fundamentals of methods reporting, you’ll try your hand at peer reviewing and writing search methods descriptions. (Are you in the process of writing up your search methods for a review article? Bring along your draft and get it peer reviewed by a colleague!) You’ll also take home practical checklists and tools you can use to make sure your search methods documentation will stand up to the scrutiny of even the most discerning of peer reviewers.

This course will teach you how to do the kind of recordkeeping that makes your important work visible to review teams, makes updating reviews a breeze, and prepares you to answer any questions that the principal investigator throws your way.

This course is an approved elective for the Level I Systematic Review Services Specialization.

Note: If you attended Allison’s MLA webinar of the same name, this course will offer you a review of the webinar content plus more opportunities to practice writing methods descriptions, get feedback on your work, and ask questions about your documentation challenges.

Important Note: It’s recommended that you bring a laptop computer with Wi-Fi capability to fully participate in the learning activities for this course.

MLA CE: 3

Audience

Medical librarians and other health information professionals who are interested in co-authoring or providing literature searching support to systematic reviews. Basic knowledge of the systematic review process is beneficial but not required.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

Describe planned search methods for systematic review manuscripts and protocols in detail
Document search methods so that searches are reproducible and documentation complies with established systematic review standards
Identify key decision points when developing search methods, communicate them to the review team, and document the rationale and team buy-in for decisions
Report search methods in review manuscripts using language that is precise, accessible, and helps non-librarian audiences understand appended technical information such as search strategy encoding

Instructor

Allison McArthur is an Information Specialist at Public Health Ontario (PHO), a provincial health research agency that provides scientific and technical advice to stakeholders in government, public health, health care, and related sectors. Since 2012, she has supported PHO scientists in conducting all types of synthesis research, and she has been involved in many systematic reviews from service provision to contributorship to co-authorship. She has completed Comprehensive Systematic Review Training Certification from the Joanna Briggs Institute (Queen’s Collaboration for Health Care Quality, 2018) and has delivered review methods consultation and instruction to library students, librarians, and researchers across Ontario.