Last revised 02-Apr-2012
Document Type	Choice Indicated		Database Name * requires free registration to access selected full text	Subject(s) Covered	Links to Cochrane abstracts?
SEARCH RESOURCES IN PRIORITY ORDER BY LEVEL
EBP Pyramid All Levels
Only time for a quick search? Suggest #1, then cross-check with 3; 9; 29 or 30 (if needed)
All types	Search either 1 or 2	1	TRIP Database	All areas of health care	Yes
Mostly systematic reviews, practice guidelines and primary studies		2	SUMSearch 2	All areas of health care	Yes
EBP Pyramid Level 1 -- Systematic Reviews / Meta-Analyses
Thorough search? Suggest #1, then cross-check with #3; 4 or 5; 6; 7-8 (if subject applies)
All systematic reviews and/or meta-analyses		3	The Cochrane Library—Perform Search—Browse Results from Cochrane and Other Reviews First	All areas of health care	Yes
	Search either 4 or 5	4	MEDLINE with Full Text—Limited by Systematic Reviews Subject Subset	Medicine & allied fields	Yes
		5	PubMed—Click on Clinical Queries—Perform Search—Browse Results under Systematic Reviews	Medicine & allied fields	Yes
		6	PsycINFO—Limited by Methodology: Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses	Behavioral science & mental health	No
		7	Campbell Collaboration Library of Systematic Reviews	Education, crime/justice & social welfare	No
		8	The Community Guide (CDC)	Selected broad areas such as Adolescent Health, Mental Health, Obesity, Social Environment, Violence	No
EBP Pyramid Level 2 -- Critically-Appraised Topics
Thorough search? Suggest #1 & 9, then cross-check results with #10-11; 12 or 13; 14-16
Evidence summaries of all types		9	Clinical Evidence [print edition]	Medicine & allied fields	Yes
Practice guidelines		10	National Guideline Clearinghouse	All areas of health care	No
		11	NICE Clinical Practice Guidelines	All areas of health care	No
	Search either 12 or 13	12	MEDLINE with Full Text—Limited by Publication Type: Practice Guideline	Medicine & allied fields	No
		13	PubMed—Click on Advanced Search—Limit by Publication Type: Practice Guideline	Medicine & allied fields	No
		14	National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP)	Mental and substance use disorders	No
Treatment guidelines		15	Research-Supported Psychological Treatments (APA Div 12)	Psychological disorders	No
		16	PsycINFO—Limited by Descriptor: “Treatment Guidelines”	Behavioral science & mental health	No
EBP Pyramid Level 3 -- Critically-Appraised Individual Articles
Thorough search? Suggest #1, then cross-check results with #17-24
Cochrane reviews; articles from ACP Journal Club, AHRQ Evidence Reports/Technical Assessments, Clinical Evidence & BMJ Evidence-Based Journal series		17	MEDLINE with Full Text—Limited by EBM Reviews	Medicine & allied fields	Yes
Evidence summaries of all types		18	Bandolier (1994-present)	All areas of health care	No
Selected journal articles		19	BMJ Evidence Updates*	Medicine & allied fields	No
Original articles with conclusions and commentaries		20	ACP Journal Club	Medicine & allied fields	No
Evidence reports Technology assessments		21	AHRQ Evidence Reports and Technical Assessments	All areas of health care	No
Original articles with structured abstract and commentaries		22	BMJ Evidence-Based Journal series*	Medicine, nursing & mental health	No
Literature reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analyses		23	MEDLINE with Full Text—Limited by Publication Type: Review	Medicine & allied fields	Yes
Literature reviews		24	PsycINFO—Limited by Literature Reviews	Behavioral science & mental health	No
EBP Pyramid Levels 4 to 6 -- Primary Studies
Thorough search? Suggest #1, then cross-check results with #25 or 26; 27-28
Select primary studies In priority order -- 1) randomized clinical trials (RCT) 2) cohort studies 3) case control studies 4) case reports or series	Search either 25 or 26	25	MEDLINE with Full Text Clinical Queries	Medicine & allied fields	No
			Select a Category and Filter. Categories include: Therapy (suggested), Diagnosis, Prognosis, Reviews, Clinical Prediction Guides, Qualitative, Causation, Costs, Economics. Filters include: High Specificity (narrow search), High Sensitivity (broad search) or Best Balance (in between)
		26	PubMed—Click on Clinical Queries—Perform Search—Select Clinical Study Category and Scope	Medicine & allied fields	No
			Default: Therapy/Broad. Categories include: Etiology, Diagnosis, Therapy (suggested), Prognosis, Clinical Prediction Guides. Scope includes: Broad (sensitive) or Narrow (specific)
Primary studies (may or may not use controls)			PsycINFO—Limited by all methodologies below
		27	Empirical study; Quantitative study; Longitudinal study; Prospective study; Treatment outcome/Clinical trial; Clinical case study	Behavioral science & mental health	No
		28	PsycINFO—Limited by Descriptors: "Treatment Outcome" and "Treatment Effectiveness Evaluation"	Behavioral science & mental health	No
EBP Pyramid Level 7 -- Background Information
Thorough search? Suggest #1 then move on to #29 or 30; 32-33 as needed
Patient information (layman's level)	Search either 29 or 30	29	EBSCO Consumer Health Complete	Medicine & allied fields	No
		30	MedlinePlus—Browse by Health Topic	Medicine & allied fields	No
Encyclopedia		32	Medscape	Medicine & allied fields	No
Handbook or textbook		33	Search Library Catalog for evidence-based clinical textbooks or handbooks	All fields	No
REMINDERS
See Forest EBP Pyramid at http://www.forest.edu/lib-subj-ebp.aspx
4Try to use highly filtered evidence from Levels 1-3 of the EBP pyramid as much as possible. 4Cochrane reviews hold more weight than non-Cochrane systematic reviews or meta-analyses. 4When searching for systematic reviews, make sure your review isn't an "application to write a review." 4Search for evidence from Level 7 only if you feel you need background information or expert opinion. 4Carefully consider how old your evidence is (even if it's highly filtered). 4It is essential to use limits and filters when conducting evidence-based (or clinical) literature searches in the MEDLINE with Full Text or PsycINFO databases. 4Don't rely on the thesaurus descriptor "Evidence-Based Medicine" or "Evidence-Based Practice" in PsycINFO. Articles with these descriptors will discuss EBM or EBP methods and techniques but may not be empirical or controlled studies. 4PsycINFO is inconsistent about assigning Methodology values to articles. You may wish to combine your search query with appropriate terms such as random* clinical trial* or random* control* trial* or RCT*; cohort* stud*; case control*; case stud*; case series. 4You must do your own filtering of content from Levels 4-6. Prepared by Forest Institute Library staff