To acquire the evidence, you must develop an effective search strategy. Search strategies may vary from one database to another. Searching for the evidence-based literature is an iterative process and will involve one or more of these strategies: identifying synonyms and subject terms for each concept, trying broad and narrow concept searching, adding and subtracting concepts to decrease or increase, respectively, the number of results, and filtering results according to particular parameters such as dates published, type of article, etc.
Once again, the clinical question is: For a 55 year old woman with osteoporosis, is a regimen of calcium, vitamin D, and/or weight bearing exercise as effective as treatment with bisphosponates in preventing additional bone loss?
Here is an example of a search strategy:
There are a variety of article databases in which to search for the evidence-based literature. Click on the various tabs on this webpage to explore these databases and other helpful resources.
Use article databases to search for primary research articles, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and clinical practice guidelines.
On the search results page, results are categorized by type of article, including "Guidelines."
Additional links to guidelines may be found in the Residency Resources section.
CURRENT Practice Guidelines in Primary Care 2021-2022 by
Guidelines and recommendations for the most common outpatient conditions--from sources you can trust! Fully Reviewed and Updated Guideline Summaries! Organized into topics related to disease screening, prevention and management, and further subdivided into organ systems for quick reference Consolidates information from government agencies, medical and scientific organizations, and expert panels into concise recommendations and guidelines Updated with more than 90 new guidelines Significant updates to colorectal cancer screening, migraine prevention, and management of diabetes, cellulitis, asthma, and chronic pain among many others. New sections on orthopedics and sports medicine in addition to expanded specialty areas such as addiction medicine, transgender health, maternity care and hospital medicine. Spans all areas of general medicine and covers primary care topics in both ambulatory and hospital settings Includes website addresses for U.S. government agencies and professional societies
Pediatric Clinical Practice Guidelines and Policies by
The landmark 20th edition is even more relevant than ever, giving you essential information for the best patient care. Keep current with the latest clinical practice guidelines and policies from the American Academy of Pediatrics covering more than 40 clinical practice guidelines, plus every AAP policy statement, clinical report, and technical report through December 2019. Updated and expanded content: Text and eBook access to AAP clinical practice guidelines and full text of the 2019 AAP policies More than 600 policy statements, clinical reports, and technical reports Includes new clinical practice guideline: Diagnosis, Evaluation, and treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Adolescents Quick reference tools, including coding tips and patient education handouts Ease of use with user-friendly sections and appendixes AAP-endorsed clinical practice guidelines and policy statements from other groups
These types of resources use an appraisal process to review and evaluate primary research studies, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses and apply scaled ratings or graded recommendations. When physicians use a point-of-care tool, they know that studies have been vetted for quality, validity, and relevance, and thus, they can feel confident in utilizing the information right away at the point of care with a patient.
ACP Journal Club - a monthly feature in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. Research staff and clinical editors rigorously appraise original studies and systematic reviews from more than 110 journals and summarize them in value-added abstracts. Ten journal club appraisals are published monthly. Included studies need to meet specific study design quality criteria and are rated on a scale from 1 to 7 on clinical relevance and newsworthiness in its field.
Searching Skills Toolkit by
Searching Skills Toolkit is an expert guide to help you find the clinical evidence you need more easily and effectively. Clearly presented with useful tips and advice, flow charts, diagrams and real-life clinical scenarios, it shows the best methods for finding quality evidence. From deciding where to start, to building a search strategy, refining results and critical appraisal, it is a step-by-step guide to the process of finding healthcare evidence, and is designed for use by all health and social care professionals. This second edition has been expanded with new chapters on searching for sources to support evidence-based management decision making and how to better enable your patients to make informed choices. It has also been fully updated to include new web sources, open source reference management software, and new training resources and exercises. Searching Skills Toolkit is an ideal reference for doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, managers and decision makers, researchers and students.
Painless Evidence-Based Medicine by 
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