A-Z Databases: Cochrane Library: Welcome

Cochrane provides an amalgamation of existing research on clinical health topics. It is especially useful for postgraduate researchers and academics who are looking to identify gaps in the literature.

Keep search terms simple, e.g. glycaemic control. Click the magnifying glass icon to run the search.  

The results of the search are organised into separate resource categories: reviews, protocols, editorials, trials, clinical answers. You can use the tabs above the display panel to switch between them.

Use the menu options on the left to narrow search by date, type and topic. You can order the results by relevancy, title or date using the drop-down menu directly above the search results. 

You can browse systematic reviews by subject headings. Click Browse (below the search bar) to see an A to Z list of medical headings. Click on one of the headings to view the results. 

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Cochrane Training (2019) Searching the Cochrane Library. 14 May. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLD7w63rqB0 (Accessed: 11 April 2021)

For most purposes, the basic search option will suffice. The advanced search tool provides options to run more complex searches. You can combine search terms using Boolean operators: 'AND', 'OR'. 'NOT'. Use quotation marks to search for a phrase.

• diabetes AND "glycaemic control" will only retrieve records which contain both of these terms.
• diabetes OR "glycaemic control" will retrieve records which contain either search term. 
• NOT excludes a particular term from the search.

Click the plus and minus signs (+ / -) to add or remove search boxes.

The database matches your keywords with words that appear in the titles and abstracts of the articles. You can search the full text of the articles or narrow your search to abstract or title only by using the drop down menu to the left of the search boxes. 

Select the Search Limits tool to specify a date range for the search, to search within a particular Cochrane group, e.g. "drugs and medicine", and include or exclude word variants.

Library staff are available to help you to use all of our online databases and electronic journal services. 

Contact us at library@uws.ac.uk or via the Self Service Portal. 

MeSH (medical subject headings)

This tool enables you to find precise medical terms related to your research topic. This will help you to develop your search strategy and broaden its scope.

PICO Search 

This tool enables you to focus your search on finding particular forms of clinical evidence using PICO search parameters: Population, Intervention, Comparison and Outcome.

As you enter your search terms,  a drop-down menu will appear with keyword matches to choose from. You must select one of these options to run the search.

You can combine search terms using Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT). Click the plus / minus signs (+ / -) to add or remove lines. Click Run Search.

The panel to the left of the search results provides a breakdown of the records within PICO categories. Click on the headings to view the articles in each category.  

The Search Manager tool enables you to build complex search strategies. Enter your search terms and click continue to see the number of corresponding results retrieved by the database. Clicking continue will also add a new line for your search. 

You can view the results line be line by clicking on the record count displayed in the right column. The results are displayed on the lower half of the same page so that you can continue your search while viewing the results. 

Use quotation marks to search for phrases, e.g. "glycaemic control". You can enter more than one search term in each line and the database will combine the terms, e.g. diabetes AND "glycaemic control" AND "myocardial infarction" (the database will look for records containing all these terms). 

Use the embedded MeSH tool (to the right of the search box) to identify related medical terms and sharpen the precision of your searches