Research Subject Guides: Systematic Reviews and Evidence Syntheses: Databases

Databases

You will want to search at least three databases for your systematic review. Three databases alone does not complete the search standards for systematic review requirements. You will also have to complete a search of the grey literature and complete additional hand searches. Which databases you should search is highly dependent on your systematic review topic, so it is recommended you meet with a librarian.

Commonly Used Health Sciences Databases

You will want to search at least three databases for your systematic review. Three databases alone does not complete the search standards for systematic review requirements as you will also have additional searches of the grey literature and hand searches to complete. Which databases you search is highly dependent on your systematic review topic, so it is recommended you meet with a librarian.

Cochrane, which is considered the gold standard for clinical systematic reviews, recommends searching the following three databases, at a minimum: PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL).

PubMed (NU customized) This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive source of journal literature in the life sciences and biomedicine from the National Library of Medicine. PubMed is a free web resource, however this version contains links to Northeastern-subscribed journals that require a login.
Embase (Elsevier) This link opens in a new window
An up-to-date biomedical research database covering the most important international biomedical literature from 1947 to the present day. Structured and natural language searching.
Embase includes unique non-English content and coverage of the most important types of evidence, such as randomized controlled trials, controlled clinical trials, Cochrane reviews and meta-analyses.
Cochrane Library This link opens in a new window
A full text database of high-quality, independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making. Cochrane and other systematic reviews, clinical trials, and more.
Terms of Use
http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20001143
View tutorials about searching this database.
Web of Science, All Databases This link opens in a new window
Use this link for access to citation tracking and subject searching of scholarly literature. Data visualizations, alerts, and journal impact factors. Includes the Web of Science Core Collection. One of the largest curated databases of scholarly research, with citations in some subjects from 1900 to the present.
Northeastern's subscription includes:Web of Science Core Collection (Arts and humanities, social sciences and Science Citation indexes)
Biosis Citation Index
Biosis Previews
Current Contents Connect
Data Citation Index
Derwent Innovations Index
KCI-Korean Journal Database
Medline
SciELO Citation Index
PsycInfo (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
American Psychological Associations flagship PsycINFO database includes citations and abstracts of peer reviewed articles, books, and dissertations. Coverage from 1888 to the present. Full text links where available.
Documents indexed include journals, articles, books, dissertations and more. 90% of the 3,000+ titles indexed in PsycINFO are peer-reviewed.
CINAHL Complete (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
Citations and abstracts of scholarly, peer-reviewed articles and professional association news and information for thousands of publications. Covers nursing and 17 allied health disciplines, going as far back as 1937. Links to full text where available.
Nursing dissertations, National League for Nursing and American Nurses' Association publications, selected conference proceedings, evidence-based Care Sheets, and 250+ research instrument descriptions. Features CINAHL Headings - controlled vocabulary search terms for more precise, comprehensive search results.
View tutorials on searching this database

Commonly Used Social Sciences Databases

Criminal Justice Abstracts (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
Citations and abstracts of scholarly, peer-reviewed articles and professional association news and information. Covers criminology; criminal justice; criminal law and procedure; corrections; police and policing; forensic sciences; history of crime; substance abuse; probation and parole. Links to full text.
EconLit (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
Citations and abstracts to scholarly and professional literature in economics. 1969 to present. Links to full text.
The American Economic Association's electronic database and the foremost source of references to economic literature. The online heir to the Journal of Economic Literature (JEL), EconLit is a reliable source of citations and abstracts to economic research.
Web of Science, All Databases This link opens in a new window
Use this link for access to citation tracking and subject searching of scholarly literature. Data visualizations, alerts, and journal impact factors. Includes the Web of Science Core Collection. One of the largest curated databases of scholarly research, with citations in some subjects from 1900 to the present.
Northeastern's subscription includes:Web of Science Core Collection (Arts and humanities, social sciences and Science Citation indexes)
Biosis Citation Index
Biosis Previews
Current Contents Connect
Data Citation Index
Derwent Innovations Index
KCI-Korean Journal Database
Medline
SciELO Citation Index
PsycInfo (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
American Psychological Associations flagship PsycINFO database includes citations and abstracts of peer reviewed articles, books, and dissertations. Coverage from 1888 to the present. Full text links where available.
Documents indexed include journals, articles, books, dissertations and more. 90% of the 3,000+ titles indexed in PsycINFO are peer-reviewed.
Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive database of books, articles, and dissertations in sociology and related disciplines, from 1952 to the present. International in scope, links to full text.

Does my database have a thesaurus?

Browsing EBSCOhost databases use a thesaurus, notably PsycINFO

The Sociological Abstracts Thesaurus is located on the Advanced Search screen:
ProQuest Sociological Abstracts Advanced Search page showwing link to Thesaurus

Commonly Used Education Databases

You will want to search at least three databases for your systematic review. Three databases alone does not complete the search standards for systematic review requirements as you will also have additional searches of the grey literature and hand searches to complete. Which databases you search is highly dependent on your systematic review topic, so it is recommended you meet with a librarian.

Education Research Complete (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
Peer-reviewed journals in education, most with full text. Topics covered include all levels of education from early childhood to higher education, and all educational specialties, such as multilingual education, health education, and testing.
ERIC (Education Resources Institute) This link opens in a new window
Citations to education information, including scholarly articles, professional literature, education dissertations, and books, plus grey literature such as curriculum guides, conference proceedings, government publications, and white papers.

Covers 1966 to the present.
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education.
Web of Science, All Databases This link opens in a new window
Use this link for access to citation tracking and subject searching of scholarly literature. Data visualizations, alerts, and journal impact factors. Includes the Web of Science Core Collection. One of the largest curated databases of scholarly research, with citations in some subjects from 1900 to the present.
Northeastern's subscription includes:Web of Science Core Collection (Arts and humanities, social sciences and Science Citation indexes)
Biosis Citation Index
Biosis Previews
Current Contents Connect
Data Citation Index
Derwent Innovations Index
KCI-Korean Journal Database
Medline
SciELO Citation Index

Looking to Find Systematic Reviews?

There are a number of places to look for systematic reviews, including within the commonly used databases listed on this page. Some other resources to consider are:

Systematic Review Repository - International Initiative for Impact Evaluation
The systematic review repository from International Initiative for Impact Evaluation is an essential resource for policymakers and researchers who are looking for synthesized evidence on the effects of social and economic interventions in low- and middle- income countries.
Epistemonikos
Epistemonikos is a collaborative, multilingual database of health evidence. It is the largest source of systematic reviews relevant for health-decision making, and a large source of other types of scientific evidence.

PLEASE NOTE: Epistemonikos is a systematic reviews focused database. It pulls in systematic reviews from a number of different international sources and pulls in the studies those reviews. While you will find randomized controlled trials and other primary studies in this database, they are only added in because of their association with a systematic review. Therefore, searching here for randomized controlled trials or other primary studies would NOT be considered a comprehensive search.