Everything you wanted to know about search filters and what they mean for CareSearch: what are they, how do we create them and how are they useful?

Sarah Hayman

October 21, 2013

What is a search filter?

"Search filters" are evidence based literature search strategies, developed using an explicit methodology and tested using a gold standard test comparison study design. They provide a standardised, systematic search with a known level of performance.

What does a search filter look like?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?cmd=search&term= advance+care+planning[mh]+OR+attitude+to+death[mh]+OR+bereavement[mh]+OR+terminal+care[mh]+OR+hospices[mh]+OR+life+support+care[mh]+OR+palliative+care[mh]+OR+terminally+ill[mh]+OR+death[mh:noexp]+OR+palliat*[Text+Word]+OR+hospice*[Text+Word]+OR+terminal+care[Text+Word]+OR+1049-9091[journal]+OR+1472-684X[journal]+OR+1357-6321[journal]+OR+1536-0539[journal]+OR+0825-8597[journal]+OR+1557-7740[journal]+OR+1552-4264[journal]+OR+1478-9523[journal]+OR+1477-030X[journal]+OR+0749-1565[journal]+OR+0742-969X[journal]+OR+1544-6794[journal]+OR+0941-4355[journal]+OR+1873-6513[journal]+OR+0145-7624[journal]+OR+1091-7683[journal]+OR+0030-2228[journal]+OR+((advance+care+plan*[text+word]+OR+attitude+to+death[text+word]+OR+bereavement[text+word]+OR+terminal+care[text+word]+OR+life+supportive+care[text+word]+OR+terminally+ill[text+word]+OR+palliat*[text+word]+OR+hospice*[text+word]+OR+1049-9091[journal]+OR+1472-684X[journal]+OR+1357-6321[journal]+OR+1536-0539[journal]+OR+0825-8597[journal]+OR+1557-7740[journal]+OR+1552-4264[journal]+OR+1478-9523[journal]+OR+1477-030X[journal]+OR+0749-1565[journal]+OR+0742-969X[journal]+OR+1544-6794[journal]+OR+0941-4355[journal]+OR+1873-6513[journal]+OR+0145-7624[journal]+OR+1091-7683[journal]+OR+0030-2228[journal])+NOT+Medline[sb])+AND+English[lang]

Why do we need search filters?Characteristics of ideal search• Open access (no registration)• Pre written (easy)• One click (fast)• Retrieves what we need

and excludes what wedon’t (accurate)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25031050@N06/3292307605/

From this

to this

with simple clicks

CareSearch and Flinders Filters search filters

• Palliative care• Heart failure• Lung cancer• Residential aged care• Dementia• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health• Primary health care• Bereavement (under development)

http://www.caresearch.com.auhttp://www.flinders.edu.au/clinical-change/research/flinders-filters

Other organisations creating or publishing Search Filters

• McMaster University Health Information Research Unit

• PubMed Clinical Queries• Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN)• The InterTASC Information Specialists' Sub-Group

Search Filter Resource

Search filter development process

• Takes 6-9 months• Involves team: expert advisory group, manager,

librarian/researcher(s), web technicians• Is transparent, validated, documented and

reproducible

Why use a search filter?• An “evidence based" search

= known effectiveness

• Benefits– Saves time– Increases likelihood of quality retrievals– Removes individual search burden– Embeds technical expertise

Application of the search filter

The filter:

• can be used to build specific topic searches (and alerts)

• can be used to build your own search• can target highest level of evidence and/or free full

text information (PubMed translation)• can restrict results to English language information

What are the limits of a search filter?

• effectiveness is subject to the quality of titles, abstracts and MeSH headings in PubMed

• not all relevant and useful literature is found in PubMed• there is no such thing as a perfect search• building your own search requires some knowledge of the

search process for best results

It’s all about evidence …

Evidence

http://www.flickr.com/photos/focalplane/229880631/

…and knowledge translation (KT)

• Knowledge to Action Framework underpins the CareSearch project• Evidence and KT guide decision making and processes• Aim is to maximise the likelihood that evidence will be used.

Search filters on the CareSearch site

• In Finding and Using Evidence -> Searching for evidence -> Palliative Care PubMed Searches

• In Finding and Using Evidence -> Searching for evidence -> Using search filters• In Clinical Evidence -> Patient Management (e.g. Appetite Problems)• In Clinical Evidence -> Specific diseases (e.g. Dementia)• In Hubs, e.g. Professional Groups -> RAC Hub -> Literature and Resources

Search filters – leading research

• See Flinders Filters for details of all filters projects and list of publications.