CMU LibGuides: Evidence Synthesis: Finding, appraising and synthesizing research: Searching the published literature

Choosing and searching databases

Librarians can recommend databases and other sources to search for an evidence synthesis project. The sources you choose will depend on your research question and the disciplines in which relevant research may be conducted. Below is some guidance for choosing scholarly databases in a number of research areas. Check the library's database list for a full list of available sources across all disciplines.

Librarians can also help with designing complex searches using the specialized syntax of individual databases. Consult with a librarian if you have questions.

Note that these databases largely focus on the published, peer-reviewed literature. For guidance and resources for searching other types of information (i.e., gray literature), see the next tab in this guide.

For questions in psychology, decision science and other social sciences

PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
through EBSCO. Contains citations and summaries of the international literature in psychology and related behavioral and social sciences, including psychiatry, sociology, anthropology, education, pharmacology, and linguistics.
Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window
through ProQuest. Abstracts and indexes the international literature in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences.
Scopus This link opens in a new window
Scopus is a very large database of scholarly literature covering a wide range of disciplines including the social sciences, life science and humanities.
Web of Science This link opens in a new window
Web of Science is an integrated platform of multidisciplinary databases of bibliographic information including Science, Social Sciences and Arts and Humanities Citation Indexes.

For questions in human health and medicine

Ovid MEDLINE This link opens in a new window
MEDLINE is one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date bibliographic databases of life sciences and biomedical information. It is compiled by the US National Library of Medicine.
GenderWatch This link opens in a new window
GenderWatch is a full text database of publications that focus on the impact of gender across a broad spectrum of subject areas. The database provides in-depth coverage of the subjects that are uniquely central to women's lives, including family, childbrith, birth control, daycare, domestic abuse, work and the workplace, sexual harassment, aging, aging parents, body image, eating disorders and social and societal roles.

For questions in management, economics, and policy

ABI/INFORM Collection This link opens in a new window
ABI Inform is an extensive international business and management database, contains bibliographic citations, abstracts, and full text of articles.
Business Source Premier This link opens in a new window
Provides full text for scholarly business journals and a variety of other sources. Coverage includes virtually all subject areas related to business. Coverage dates as far back as 1922.
EconLit This link opens in a new window
Covering economic theory and history, fiscal theory, econometrics, agricultural economics, public finance, demography, monetary theory, international economics and others.
PAIS Index This link opens in a new window
The PAIS International database from CSA contains citations to journal articles, books, government documents, statistical directories, grey literature, research reports, conference reports, publications of international agencies, microfiche, Internet material, and more. Subjects include administration of justice, business, economics, government, human rights, labor conditions and policy, and social conditions.

For questions in engineering

Compendex This link opens in a new window
The most comprehensive bibliographic database of scientific and technical engineering research available, covering all engineering disciplines.
IEEE Xplore This link opens in a new window
Technical literature in electrical engineering, computer science, and electronics from IEEE journals and conference proceedings. Also includes all current IEEE standards.

Database Syntax

Every database works differently. Consult with a librarian to 'translate' searches between databases. The link below provides some guidance for how to search using different platforms.

Database syntax guide
A guide to database syntax provided by the Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Cochrane Review group.

Regional Databases

African Index Medicus
The World Health Organization, in collaboration with the Association for Health Information and Libraries in Africa (AHILA), produces this international index to African health literature and information sources.
CiNii Articles (Scholarly Academic Information Navigator)
A database with a Japan focus that can be used to search information on academic articles published in academic society journals, university research bulletins or articles included in the National Diet Library's Japanese Periodicals Index Database and databases.
LILACS
LILACS is the most important and comprehensive index of scientific and technical literature of Latin America and the Caribbean.
SciELO: Scientific Electronic Library Online
A bibliographic database and digital library of open access journals with a focus on literature published in developing countries, primarily in South America.
Virtual Health Library
Find more sources for Latin America and the Caribbean here, beyond LILACS and SciELO.