3. Select your sources

Where you will try out your search string will of course depend on your research question. The Hanze has subscriptions to a lot of databases so that you can find and read reliable information about your subject for free after logging in. In the next box you will see a list of databases that can be widely used. In the menu on the right you can check whether there is a specific Library Guide for your study programme, in which more specific databases are recommended.

Where you look also depends on what kind of information you want to find (and thus the assignment you have been given by your teacher).

Sometimes you are looking for background information and an overview of the available literature: that is filtered information. As you can see in the image below, Systematic Reviews, previously written CATs, and Meta-analysis fall under filtered information.

Sometimes the assignment is for you to look for independent studies to summarize them yourself: then you look for unfiltered information. The most reliable unfiltered information can be found in Randomized Controlled Trials. This has to do with how the research is set up and how little space the research design allows for coincidences and bias. Check your assignment description to see if you are asked to search specifically for Randomized Controlled Trials, for example.

​The higher up the pyramid, the stronger the evidence from the source are, because they are less prone to bias and systematic errors. This means that the value for practice is also the highest. But the higher up the pyramid, the rarer the resources will be. 

Here are some interesting links and other Library Guides for you to check out. The PubMed Library Guide is currently only available in Dutch