Building a search string for your literature review
When you conduct a literature review—such as a systematic, scoping, or systematised narrative review—it is crucial to identify all relevant publications. Only then can you draw reliable conclusions. But how do you ensure you really capture all the relevant literature? And how do you make sure your search string meets the strict standards of transparency and reproducibility that systematic and scoping reviews require?
In this workshop, you will learn how to design an objective, reproducible search string. You will practice this in the academic database Web of Science. We encourage you to bring your own research question, so you can leave the session with a starting point (or more) for the search strategy of your own review. Depending on the time available and the participants’ research areas, we may also look at other databases.
If you have questions, need more help or you would like an individual appointment after this workshop, you are welcome to contact us: infobfac@ubn.ru.nl.
Related LibGuide: Library Guide Science by Marieke van der Eerden
- Date:
- Tuesday, December 16, 2025
- Time:
- 1:00pm - 2:30pm
- Location:
- HG00.217 Library of Science
- Campus:
- Library of Science
- Faculty:
- Library of Science
- Categories:
- Literature search Referencing
