THE COCHRANE LIBRARY COCHRANE REVIEWS (Database of Systematic Reviews) DARE (Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects) CCTR (Clinically Controlled Trials) CENTRAL (Central Register of Controlled Trials) METHODOLOGY REVIEWS CMR (Methodology Register) COCHRANE COLLABORATION & COCHRANE COLLABORATIVE REVIEW GROUPS

Go to university home page – – and click on ‘student portal’

Use your university network username and password to login, in or outside the university

Go to the Library & Computing tab on the portal Click on Databases & Journals or (via Athens DA) if accessing from home then NB, Athens DA must be used off-campus

From within the University, select Electronic Databases A-Z Then Cochrane Library – Intranet access, and click to enter the Cochrane Library

If using Athens DA, click on Resources to see list of databases available … then page down database menu and select Wiley Interscience

Click on Publication titles, then type Cochrane Library in the search box. Click on Go. Click on Cochrane Library

The Cochrane Library homepage allows Browsing the different parts of the database, Search options, and Help

It is possible to browse by topic by selecting Topic from the Browse menu, then selecting the subject from the Drop-down menu

Advanced search is to be simplest as the framework is supplied on the screen. Terms may be typed into the search box(es) using the Drop-down menus to select search fields and Boolean operators to link terms. Page down to see search tips to right of screen.

Boolean search operators And links terms, eg: Mental Health and Geriatric will retrieve records which contain both terms Or retrieves records which contain either term, eg: Neonate or Premature Not excludes records containing the term, eg: Acupuncture not Dry-needling will retrieve records which contain the first term, but not if the second is also present

To search for an exact phrase, enclose term in inverted commas. Use wildcard character * to search for variants, e.g. “pregnan*” will locate pregnancy and pregnant. See Search tips for further variations N.B. Do not forget to select fields to be searched from drop- down menus

Page down the screen to select database, or restrict search by record status or by date range

Quicksearch allows a basic search, linking terms with the Boolean operators And, Or or Not The Drop-down menu enables you to limit your search to a specific part of the record. Records will display up to 25 at a time. Click on Record to display more detail

A review appears. To display full text (where available), click on links to left of screen. N.B. Adobe Acrobat must be loaded on computers at home in order to read PDF files.

Selected citations may be marked and exported to your own computer, or the whole page may be exported Choose citation only, or abstract and citation, and type of computer from drop-down boxes

MeSH keywords from the MeSH Thesaurus published by the US Library of Medicine have been attached to many records. Select Mesh Search Search the index by entering search term, then clicking on Thesaurus. MeSH Search Tips appear to the right of the screen

All headings containing that word are listed. Select the term most relevant to your interest. The result may be restricted further by selecting terms from the drop-down Qualifiers box Search this term only will search for just the selected term (in red). Explode will search for the narrower terms below as well

Search History contains a list of all searches done in the current session. Searches are listed #1, #2 etc. To combine searches, or combine an existing search with another term, enter # and number linking search numbers or terms with and/or/not.

To return to the Cochrane Home page at any time click on Home. To return to the Wiley Interscience Home page, click on Wiley Interscience Home. Search strategies may be kept from one session to the next by registering with Wiley Interscience from their Home page, then using Save search strategy as you search