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Level 1 - Articles describing systematic reviews or meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials; clinical guidelines based on systematic reviews or meta-analyses
Level 2 - Articles reporting well-designed randomized controlled trials
Level 3 - Articles reporting controlled trial, no randomization
Level 4 - Articles reporting on case-control or cohort study
Level 5 - Articles reporting systematic reviews of descriptive & qualitative studies
Level 6 - Articles reporting on single descriptive or qualitative study
Level 7 - Articles reporting expert opinion
Source:
Melnyk, B.M. & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2015). "Box 1.3: Rating system for the hierarchy of evidence for intervention/treatment questions" in Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: A guide to best practice (3rd ed.) (pp. 11). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health.
Subject search results can be limited by study types to locate research based on level of evidence. Below are tips for utilizing "limits"or "filters" for the following databases:
To limit your subject search results by research study types, in the Search Options section in the Basic or Advanced search, find the “Publication Type” limit, and select the desired type of study, such as Clinical Trial, Randomized Controlled Trial or Systematic Review. Hold down the “Ctrl” key to select more than one publication type. Once you have selected the desired publication types, click Search.
For study types that are not listed in the “Publication Type” limit box, search the “CINAHL Headings” for the study type. For example, search for Prospective Studies (also called cohort studies) as a CINAHL heading, and use the AND operator to combine this set of results with your topic search result.
To limit your subject search results by research study types, at the top of the left margin of your search results, under Article Types, click the type of study you want to find. If the desired type of study is not displayed, click "Customize" and choose from the resulting list all the study types you would like to display as available filters, then click "Show", and the selected study types will display in the left margin.
Click each type of study you would like included in your in your results, holding down the Control key to select more than one type. Note: "Clinical Trial" will include all individual phases of clinical trials, and will also include Randomized Controlled Trials.
For study types that are not listed as Article Types, like "cohort studies" or "longitudinal studies," search these terms as MeSH terms, and use the AND operator to combine with your topic search results.
Collection of databases that contain different types of high-quality, independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making.
Includes these components:
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) is the leading resource for systematic reviews in health care. Each Cochrane Review is a peer-reviewed systematic review that has been prepared and supervised by a Cochrane Review Group (editorial team) in The Cochrane Collaboration according to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions or Cochrane Handbook for Diagnostic Test Accuracy Reviews. Currently there are over 5,000 Cochrane Reviews including nearly 2,000 protocols providing an explicit description of the research methods and objectives for Cochrane Reviews in progress. Existing Reviews are updated as new information becomes available.
The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) includes details of published articles taken from bibliographic databases (notably MEDLINE and EMBASE), and other published and unpublished sources. CENTRAL records include the title of the article, information on where it was published (bibliographic details) and, in many cases, a summary of the article. They do not contain the full text of the article. About three-fifths of the records in CENTRAL are taken from MEDLINE. Also, each Cochrane Review Group maintains and updates a collection of controlled trials relevant to its own area of interest, these are called Specialized Registers. Each Cochrane Review Group may also collect items that are not relevant to its own field of interest; these are known as Handsearch Results.
Cochrane Clinical Answers (CCAs) provide a readable, digestible, clinically-focused entry point to rigorous research from Cochrane Reviews. They are designed to be actionable and to inform point-of-care decision-making. Each CCA contains a clinical question, a short answer, and data for the outcomes from the Cochrane Review deemed most relevant to practicing healthcare professionals, our target audience. The evidence is displayed in a user-friendly tabulated format that includes narratives, data, and links to graphics. Cochrane Clinical Answers were developed by Cochrane Innovations and Wiley.
The Advanced Search option lets you search specifically for PICO terms.