Subject and Research Guides: Psychological Sciences: Master of Professional Psychology: PSYP8910

Resources for Professional Psychology

2024 MPP Presentation Slides
Please have a look at these slides before Wednesday 4 September when Jane and Medwenna will attend your tutorial class. We will demonstrate some of the resources and will attempt to answer any questions you might have.
Searching Tips
Word document with helpful and comprehensive information about developing your search strategy and doing your search in each database.

Comprehensive Guides

Literature Reviews Guide
Includes framework of what Literature Reviews are, how do develop a comprehensive search strategy and extra readings from books and journal articles.
Systematic Review Guide
Comprehensive guide outlining all steps involved with preparing systematic and all types of evidence reviews. See the links in the column to the right for more useful links

Databases (Subscribed)

PsycINFO
Subscribed database: APA PsycInfo is the premier database for all Psychology topics. This will usually be the first database to try your strategy.
Medline
Subscribed database: Medline (OVID) is taken from PubMed and you might find it on several possible platforms. The one we recommend is OVID. There are several links on the "Search Strategies" tab in this box to videos of developing searches in Medline (OVID).

Databases (Free)

PubMed
Free Database: PubMed is a free service of the National Library of Medicine (US) providing access to all the citations available in Medline. Full text available for open access items.

PubMed: Building a Search (VIDEO approx. 17 mins)
Excellent explanation on how to build a search and then apply it in PubMed. YouTube Video from Welch Medical Library, Johns Hopkins University.

Cochrane Library
Free Database: The Cochrane library consists of 7 databases, all of which are concerned with different aspects of research which looks at the effectiveness of different health care treatments and interventions. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews is full text, while most of the other databases are registers and indexes consisting mainly of citations and detailed abstracts.

TRIP Database
Free database (although there is a Pro version which requires an individual subscription) A smart, fast tool to find high quality clinical research evidence. Millions of articles items indexed & uniquely ranked

Google Scholar @ MQ
Google, but limited to scholarly articles. Using the link via MQ allows you to access Macquarie Library links. Otherwise the fulltext will be limited to open access items.

Screening Tools

COVIDENCE
Licenced by MQ: Screening tool which can assist with any kind of review which requires systematic rigor - or if you simply want to apply a systematic approach to your literature review. This link will take you to where you can access Covidence plus has links to training tutorials. You can import RIS files from each database directly into Covidence.
RAYYAN
Free Screening tool. Works similarly to Covidence except you will need to first export RIS files to EndNote or Zotero, de-duplicate and then you can export as a single RIS file into RAYYAN. Allows for easy sharing with your reviewers.

Referencing Software

EndNote for Windows
LInks to MQ LIbrary's guide which includes download links, training resources and guides to all components of the software.
EndNote for Mac
LInks to MQ LIbrary's guide which includes download links, training resources and guides to all components of the software.
Zotero
Zotero is a free program to help you manage your research sources. It has become a very popular alternative to EndNote.

DEVELOPING SEARCH STRATEGIES FOR SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS

These resources will assist you to develop a comprehensive search strategy for your systematic literature review for PSYP8910.
For more information check the Systematic Review Guide
You can also check a previous year's Video presentation from July 2021 (49:19)

MPP Presentation slides 2023: Introduction to Systematic Reviews

VIDEO: Introduction to the Resources - and to your Research Librarians (9:08) Recorded 2022

VIDEO: PSYCINFO (Ovid) Search (40.22) (Recorded 2022) (if you are time poor? - at least watch this one!)

VIDEO: Developing search terms (4:17) (Recorded 2020)

What is your research topic? make it a question!
What is your PICO?
Prepare your own table (Concept Grid) and generate possible alternatives for your search terms.

VIDEO: Preliminary Scoping search (7:19) (Recorded 2020)

Find OVID Medline in the library catalogue
Enter your proposed search terms to get some preliminary results. How many articles did you find?
Find an intervention that matches the types of article you would most like to find
Do you have questions? Note them down.

VIDEO: Finding more terms for the Concept Grid (5:43) (Recorded 2020)

Select an article from your results that is particularly relevant to your topic.
Are there more Subject Headings (MeSH) or other key terms you can add to your search strategy?
Do you have questions? Note them down.

VIDEO: MEDLINE (Ovid) Search (12:35) (Recorded 2020)

ENGAGE: Jane Van Balen and Medwenna Buckland will be attending your lecture on Friday 28 July 2023. Please have your questions ready to ask!

Extra readings

Search strategies

Article: Systematic Reviews: Constructing a search strategy and searching for evidence

Aromataris, E., & Riitano, D. (2014). Systematic Reviews: Constructing a Search Strategy and Searching for Evidence. AJN The American Journal of Nursing, 114(5), 49-56. doi:10.1097/01.NAJ.0000446779.99522.f6

Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions Version 6.3 Technical Supplement to Chapter 4: Searching for and selecting studies https://training.cochrane.org/technical-supplement-chapter-4-searching-and-selecting-studies-v63

Inclusion and Exclusion criteria (specific parameters of the topic)

Meline, T. (2006). Selecting studies for systemic review: inclusion and exclusion criteria. Contemporary issues in communication science and disorders, 33(Spring), 21-27.

PRISMA

The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews

Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., … Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ (Online), 372, n71–n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71

Screening the results

Polanin, J. R., Pigott, T. D., Espelage, D. L., & Grotpeter, J. K. (2019). Best practice guidelines for abstract screening large‐evidence systematic reviews and meta‐analyses. Research Synthesis Methods, 10(3), 330-342

Using EndNote to assist screening process

https://libguides.ul.ie/systematic-reviews/endnote

Writing up the Systematic Review

Article: How to write a systematic review

Harris, Joshua D, Quatman, Carmen E, Manring, MM, Siston, Robert A, & Flanigan, David C. (2014). How to Write a Systematic Review. The American Journal of Sports Medicine., 42(11), 2761-2768.

Videos

The following videos are selected from OVID training (some very detailed)

The final link is a guide from University College London

Advanced Search: Mapping
Refining Search Strategy with Limits
Managing Search Results
Export Search Results
My Workspace - Saving Searches
Saving the search history in OVID
It can be handy to save your search history in Medline (or PsycInfo) once you have finalised your search strategy. This will save you having to enter it again each time. You can also share or record a direct link to your search history without saving.

Systematic Reviews QuickLinks

Systematic Reviews (SRs) aim to find and evaluate all studies, published and unpublished, relevant to a research question. They use systematic methods to minimise bias and they also use transparent methods that allow for replication and verification.

Systematic Review Guide
A comprehensive step by step guide for compiling Systematic Reviews. Produced by Clinical and Faculty Librarians at MQ Library
PRISMA Systematic Reviews
PRISMA is an evidence-based minimum set of items for reporting in systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
PRISMA for Scoping Reviews
PRISMA statement adapted for Scoping Reviews.
Prisma Flow Diagram
The flow diagram depicts the flow of information through the different phases of a systematic review. You can download the template as an editable word document.