Journal Article Databases
You need to search databases that cover the topic of interest. Different questions require the use of different databases. The journal article databases listed below are frequently used for health sciences systematic reviews. If necessary, you can also view the Database A-Z List below to find additional databases relevant for your topic.
Databases include different journals. You need to search multiple databases published by different companies and agencies in order to find the full scope of relevant literature published.
PubMed and Ovid Medline are both MEDLINE. You only need to search one or the other. Not both.
On average you may search anywhere from 3 to 5 databases. Systematic Reviews of interventions (RCTs) will typically search Pubmed/MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane CENTRAL*. If your topic involves allied health consider CINAHL Complete, for mental health PsycINFO. If your topic includes public health / prevalence consider Web of Science. Globally focused topics may want to search LILACS, African Index Medicus or other global databases.
To help identify which databases are best suited for your research try running a simple keyword search in selected databases to see whether it contains significant results. You can also search for published evidence synthesis articles on the main topic of your research study to see which databases they searched.
*Cochrane CENTRAL is a part of The Cochrane Library and is a source for reports of controlled trials. Many researchers also search ClinicalTrials.gov as this resource may contain published reports on trials that are still in progress.
- PubMed@USC This link opens in a new window PubMed provides access to millions of citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. This version is customized for USC users to find the full-text of articles.
- MEDLINE (Ovid) This link opens in a new window Access to MEDLINE database through Ovid. Citations to articles related to clinical and research information in the bio-medical sciences. Coverage ranges from 1946-present.
- Embase This link opens in a new window Embase provides access to over more than 29 million citations for biomedical articles and conference proceedings. This version has been customized for USC users to find the full-text of articles from library holdings.
- CINAHL Complete This link opens in a new window Most comprehensive database of full-text for nursing & allied health journals from 1937 to present. Includes access to scholarly journal articles, dissertations, magazines, pamphlets, evidence-based care sheets, books, and research instruments.
- Cochrane Library This link opens in a new window Collection of databases aimed at gathering and summarizing health research.
- PsycINFO This link opens in a new window Abstract and citation database of scholarly literature in psychological, social, behavioral, and health sciences. Includes journal articles, books, reports, theses, and dissertations from 1806 to present.
- Web of Science This link opens in a new window Interdisciplinary collection of journal articles, conference proceedings, and books. Collection of seven online database: Conference Proceedings Citation Index, Science Citation Index, Social Sciences Citation Index, Arts & Humanities Citation Index, Index Chemicus, Current Chemical Reactions, and Book Citation Index. Coverage is 1900-present.
- Scopus This link opens in a new window Large abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature in science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and arts and humanities. Includes bibliometrics tools to track, analyze and visualize research.
- ERIC (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window This database contains information on published and unpublished sources on thousands of educational topics. Updated monthly.
- LILACS Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature
- African Index Medicus (AIM) An international index to African health literature and information sources produced by the World Health Organization in collaboration with the Association for Health Information and Libraries in Africa (AHILA).
Database A-Z List
Database Tutorials
How do I find more database guides & tutorials?
- Search Google or YouTube for the name of the database plus training/help/tutorial.
- Go into the database and look for a help section or question mark (?) icon.
Google Scholar
You can search Google Scholar in an effort to capture journal articles missed from other database searches.
- Google Scholar will retrieve thousands of results. In general, include only the first 200 citations.
- Google Scholar has limited search features and no controlled vocabulary.
- Google Scholar has a 256 character search limit. Google Scholar search strategy should be a simplified version of your other database search strategies.
- Tips for Searching Google ScholarTips on setting up and searching Google Scholar for evidence synthesis searches.
Cited References & Cited By
SR teams should examine the reference lists and citing articles of studies included in the review to find additional relevant articles missed by database searches. Also known as forward citation searching, consulting Cited by lists for included articles can be done in databases such as Google Scholar, Web Of Science, or Scopus.
For a more detailed explanation, see ITEM 2C: CITATION SEARCHING of the PRISMA-S Explanation and Elaboration document.
Hand Searching
Hand searching refers to reading through specific journal table of contents and selecting articles relevant to the research topic to find additional relevant articles missed by database searches. This process can be done electronically for journals that USC Libraries provides online access to.
For a more detailed explanation, see ITEM 2B: MANUAL SEARCHING of the PRISMA-S Explanation and Elaboration document.