Full database
Free
Accessibility differs depending on the country, e.g. Switzerland: free full-text access, Germany, Austria: free literature search, restricted full-text access.
Broad spectrum healthcare
Evidence-based decision making
In-house publications
Journal articles
Interventional studies
Literature reviews
Systematic reviews (Cochrane reviews including review protocols), randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials.
International
English
Multiple interface languages
Spanish
English
Different for each sub-database
When a new Cochrane Review or review protocol is published (CDSR), monthly (CENTRAL), with the publication of the Cochrane Review in the CDSR on the basis of which the respective research question is answered (CCAs).
- Includes the three sub-databases: 1. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), contains Cochrane Reviews and Cochrane Review Protocols; 2. Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), contains controlled trials, 3. Cochrane Clinical Answers (CCAs), contains evidence-based answers to selected clinical research questions based on Cochrane Reviews. Further information on the individual sub-databases: Link.
- In addition, other systematic reviews can be searched for in Epistemonikus from the Cochrane Library. To do this, select the "Other Reviews" option in the "More" tab on the right above the hit list after carrying out a search process.
- For Cochrane Reviews, the included studies can be displayed as references. The excluded studies and additional references can also be displayed in a similar way. The references that have cited the respective review can also be displayed. A forward and backward search is therefore possible in principle for Cochrane Reviews, but is rather cumbersome due to the lack of an export function for these references.
- Free downloadable app available for iPad, iPhone and Android that provides an overview of the latest evidence added to the Cochane Library: Link.
- The databases previously searchable in the Cochrane Library, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE, last updated end of 2014), Health Technology Assessment Database (HTA, last updated October 2016) and NHS Economic Evaluation Database (EED, last updated end of 2014) can still be searched via the University of York: link.
- The Cochrane Review Protocols are only listed in the Cochrane Library and not in other databases such as MEDLINE.
- The CENTRAL database (sometimes also called Trials) lists studies tagged with index terms from MEDLINE (since 1966), Embase (1974), clinicaltrials.gov and occasional hand searching.
- There is a German representative of Cochrane (Cochrane Germany). Its website Link contains information, workshops and further links as well as German translations and summaries of Cochrane Reviews (Resources > German-language review translations) and overviews of existing Cochrane Reviews for specific subject areas and professional groups (Resources > Evidence-based medicine > Health professions). Further German-language or partially German-language representations: Cochrane Austria (Link), Cochrane Switzerland (Link). The following projects were created through the collaboration of the three centers: 1. Cochrane Kompakt: short summaries of Cochrane Reviews Link, 2. Wissen was wirkt: German-language blog from Cochrane on current findings in health care and research Link.
Basic functions
Search functions
Advanced Search enables the three search modes "Search" (search with selection of search fields), "Search Manager" (building complex literature searches, search with search commands) and "Medical Terms (MeSH)" (index term search). Automatically searches for variations of a word if this option is not explicitly deactivated under "Search Limits" by unchecking "Search word variations".
Also worth mentioning is the "PICO search" search mode, which is available by clicking on the corresponding tab. It allows you to search using the same vocabulary that is used to describe the PICO components in the Cochrane Reviews. To do this, a search term is entered in the respective search interface and the desired term is selected from the automatic term suggestions. The system automatically recognizes whether the term is assigned to the PICO components intervention or control intervention (here you can choose between the two), population and outcome. By clicking on "+", new components can be added and linked to each other via the tab using the AND or OR operators.
AND, OR and NOT. AND is the standard operator, i.e. if no operator is set between two words, the AND operator is used automatically.
Individual components of the literature search can be deleted and/or combined using the "Search Manager" search mode. The individual components are assigned numbers in ascending order. To link the components, it is sufficient to enter their number preceded by a hash (e.g. #3 AND #5). The resulting new component can in turn be further linked with the number assigned to it if necessary. Areas of components can also be linked with {} brackets, e.g. {AND #2-#6} or {OR #1-#4,#9,#11-#13}. If a new component is inserted within the components, the subsequent components automatically change their number. When building complex literature searches, click on "Sent to Search Manager" or "Add to Search Manager" to add search strings from the "Search" mode or index terms found in the "Medical Terms (MeSH)" mode.
* (replaces any number of characters), ? (replaces exactly one character), both wildcards can be used at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the word. Several wildcards are possible in one word.
NEAR (search for hits with two words and up to six words in between in any order, e.g. diabetes NEAR therapy), NEAR/n (search for hits with two words and exactly n words in between in any order, e.g. diabetes NEAR/2 therapy), NEXT (search for hits with two words that are exactly next to each other, e.g. diabetes NEXT therapy).
Wildcards do not work within quotation marks. If wildcards are intended within a phrase, the operator NEXT must be used. If a search string is specified (e.g. in Word) and is then to be inserted into the search interface, care must be taken to use the English spelling of the quotation marks (before and after the term above).
Search field "All Text", set by default if no other search field is selected or another search command is entered.
Simultaneous search in title, abstract and keywords possible.
E.g. Author, Source.
Filter functions
Limitation to the exact month possible, for CENTRAL only to the exact year.
However, it is possible to search for "Cochrane Groups" with specific thematic focuses.
Cochrane Reviews, Cochrane Protocols, Trials, Clinical Answers, Editorials, Special collections. If there is no limitation to specific types, all publication types are automatically searched for, but the types are displayed separately.
Display of search results
Only the hits for one of the six publication types can be displayed at a time. Above the hit list, you can set the publication type from which the hits are to be displayed. At the same time, you can also see how many hits of each publication type were found for the respective search string
Ascending or descending possible.
Under "Order by" alphabetically ascending or descending possible. If it starts with filler words (e.g. The, A), these are not taken into account, but the following word.
10, 25, 50 or 100 hits per page.
Search process and export
Via search mode Search Manager, in the other modes the search string must be added to this with "Add to Search Manager" in order to be visible there as search history. The "Highlight Orphan Lines" selection option serves as a check, with which search concepts that are not used in the final search string at the bottom are marked in red (for example, because they were forgotten to be included).
Via e-mail and/or RSS feed.
Only possible separately for each of the six publication types, but in any quantity under the respective type.
Support functions
E.g. to save searches, set automatic notifications for new hits, etc. If the intention is to document the search performed with the individual hits per entry, this should be done initially, as it is not possible to retrieve the hits for the date of the search tag retrospectively. A saved search can also be shared with other people via an e-mail link.
E.g. for operators without a reference word or open brackets.
Special functions
Important search commands
In principle, it is not necessary to set spaces. A [mhLeukemia], for example, leads to the same hits as a [mh Leukemia]. For the sake of clarity, the use of spaces is nevertheless recommended.
MeSH terms consisting of more than one word must always be enclosed in quotation marks, otherwise no hits will be found (e.g. [mh "Diabetes Mellitus"]).
The Cochrane Library also has an integrated search for MeSH terms on the page itself (search mode "Medical Terms (MeSH"). However, this does not allow as many fine adjustments as the MeSH Browser, so no detailed explanation is given here. Help for the integrated search for MeSH terms can be found under "Search Help".
Search term is only searched for in the title.
Search term is only searched in the abstract.
Search term is searched in title, abstract and keywords.
The search commands can be combined as desired by separating them with commas, for example :ti,ab for the search in title and abstract (e.g. hypertonia:ti,ab) or :ti,ab,kw for the search in title, abstract and keywords (e.g. insulin:ti,ab,kw). This also applies to other search commands available in the Cochrane Library.
The search commands can also be used for entire search concepts if they are placed after the parenthesis after which the respective search concept ends.
Example: (cancer OR tumor):ti AND (diagnosis OR screening):ti,ab
If no search command is explicitly specified, a search is automatically performed in all search fields ("All Text").
Controlled vocabulary
The index terms used by the Cochrane Library are referred to as MeSH Terms. These are listed on an independent page, the MeSH Browser, in a hierarchical tree structure. Here, search terms can be entered directly into a search field and checked for the presence of adequate MeSH terms (also known as descriptors). It is recommended to search for suitable MeSH terms for each search term individually and independently of each other.
In addition to superordinate MeSH terms and subordinate MeSH terms, subheadings (also known as qualifiers) are also assigned to each individual MeSH term (regardless of whether they are superordinate or subordinate). These are subcategories of the respective MeSH term. They are used to further specify or narrow down the search. Some of the subheadings are also organized hierarchically.
The subheadings are entered as follows: Mesh term/name of the subheading or MeSH term/abbreviation for subheading.
An overview of all subheadings that can be used in MEDLINE and their abbreviations can be found here: Link.
A list with the hierarchical arrangement of the subheadings can be found here: Link.
Not all subheadings are assigned to every MeSH term.
Example:
MeSH Term: Diabetes Mellitus
Superordinate MeSH term: Endocrine System Diseases
Possible subordinate MeSH terms: Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
Possible diabetes-related subheadings: diagnosis (DI), rehabilitation (RH), therapy (TH)
Diabetes with subheading diagnosis: Diabetes Mellitus/diagnosis or Diabetes Mellitus/DI
The index terms for the Cochrane Library are identical to those for MEDLINE and can, in principle, be used equally in both databases. However, the index terms used in the Cochrane Library only apply to publications indexed in MEDLINE. If the same index terms are used for searches in MEDLINE anyway (e.g. via PubMed), these index terms no longer need to be used in the Cochrane Library, as the same publications will be found, resulting in duplicates.
Switch to the MeSH browser page: Link.
You should first set which hits are to be searched for. The following options can be selected for this:
- "Main Heading (Descriptor) Terms": Search for MeSH terms
- "Qualifier Terms": Search for subheadings
You can then choose between two basic search settings directly to the right of the search field:
- "FullWord Search": searches for MeSH terms in which the search term entered represents the entire word (leads to fewer but more precise hits)
- "SubString Search": Searches for MeSH terms in which the search term entered only maps part of the word (leads to more, but less precise hits) As a MeSH term that matches as closely as possible should be found, the "FullWord Search" setting is a good choice. Only if no hits can be found with this setting and after exhausting the three options described in the next step should the "SubStringSearch" setting be selected. An exception is if it is already known that the search term entered is part of several words and these words (or the MeSH terms for these words) should also be found. In this case, the "SubStringSearch" setting is recommended right from the start.
The selected search setting can then be additionally specified by clicking on one of the following three buttons to the right of the setting in the previous step. This also starts the actual search process:
- "Exact Match": finds MeSH terms that exactly match the search term entered, regardless of whether they are superordinate or subordinate MeSH terms (leads to a single, but very precise hit)
- "All Fragments": finds MeSH Terms that contain the entered search term as part of the word (leads to more, but less precise hits)
- "Any Fragment": finds MeSH Terms that contain at least part of the entered search term as part of the word (leads to even more, but less precise hits) Since the aim is to find a MeSH Term that matches as closely as possible, it is a good idea to start by searching with "Exact Match". If no MeSH term is found, the search can be repeated with "All Fragments". If still no matches are displayed, "Any Fragment" enables an even broader search.
Depending on the search settings selected and the number of MeSH terms found, opens - a direct view of a specific, most suitable MeSH term or
- a list of potentially suitable MeSH terms found. Under "Sort by" these can be sorted either by relevance or name, and under "Results per page" the number of MeSH terms displayed per page can be set (only 20 or 1000 possible). The most suitable MeSH term can be selected from the list with a click and the direct view described above also opens.
In the direct view, general information on the respective MeSH term can be found under the "Details" tab, the subheadings assigned to the respective MeSH term under "Qualifiers" and the respective superordinate or subordinate MeSH terms in a tree view under "MeSH Tree Structures". The information under "Concepts" can generally be ignored.
MeSH terms found in this way can be entered into the PubMed search interface both on their own and in combination with associated subheadings for the actual literature search. The following search commands are available for this purpose, which can be entered in upper or lower case:
Search for all hits to which the MeSH term (or the MeSH term with a specifically entered subheading; without entering a subheading, all subheadings belonging to the MeSH term are taken into account) has been assigned; hits to which subordinate MeSH terms with their associated subheadings have been assigned are also automatically included.
Search for all hits to which the MeSH term (or the MeSH term with a specifically entered subheading, without entering a subheading all subheadings belonging to the MeSH term are taken into account) has been assigned as the main term/main topic; hits to which subordinate MeSH terms with their associated subheadings have been assigned as main terms/main topics are also automatically included.
No exploring", i.e. the automatic search for subordinate MeSH terms and/or subheadings for the above two commands is deactivated and only hits to which the specifically entered MeSH term and/or the specifically entered subheading is assigned are searched for.
Search for specific subheadings without MeSH terms, therefore only the abbreviations of the available subheadings can be entered here.
Important note: MeSH terms consisting of several words must be enclosed in quotation marks, otherwise the search process will not work. The English spelling of the quotation marks ("...") must be used, e.g. [mh "diabetes mellitus"].
Export of results
Export of single hits
- Mark the desired hits from the search results in the box to the left with a tick.
- Click on "Export Selected" above the top hit displayed.
- A window opens in which you can select one of three reference management software programs under "Save Citation to:" or one of five file types under "Select the format you require from the list below". Depending on the reference management software used, click on the appropriate option and, if necessary, click on "Include abstract" to export the abstract as well. Click on "Download" in the window that appears.
- All further steps depend on the Internet browser and reference management software used.
Export of all hits at once
As with the display, only the hits of one publication type can be exported at a time. Therefore, the procedure must be repeated after changing the selected publication type if several publication types are to be exported.
- Click on "Select all" above the top hit displayed.
- Click on "Export Selected" above the top hit displayed.
- A window opens in which you can select one of three reference management software programs under "Save Citation to:" or one of five file types under "Select the format you require from the list below". Depending on the reference management software used, click on the appropriate option and, if necessary, click on "Include abstract" to export the abstract as well. Click on "Download" in the window that appears.
- All further steps depend on the Internet browser and reference management software used.
Export of all hits (alternative)
Related links
- Helpful information on literature searches in the Cochrane Library can be found under "?Search Help" on the right above the search interfaces of the three search modes.
- By clicking on the "Help" tab at the top right of the magenta bar, various sub-items of the Cochrane Library help section can be selected. There you will find information on how to use the Cochrane Library as well as training courses (registration is required for training courses).
- Homepage of the InterTASC Information Specialists' Sub-Group (ISSG) with search filters: Link.