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Updated: Aug 12, 2026

Comparing Bibliometric Analysis Using PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science Databases
Published on: October 24, 2019
Efficient literature searching: a core skill for the practice of evidence-based medicine
Gordon Stuart Doig1,2, Fiona Simpson3
1Intensive Therapy Unit, Royal North Shore Hospital, 2065, St. Leonards, NSW, Australia. gdoig@med.usyd.edu.au.
Background:
Efficient literature searching and the application of formal rules of evidence in evaluating the clinical literature are the two key skills defining the practice of evidence-based medicine. Although clinicians embrace the concepts of evidence-based medicine, most identify limited personal time as the major barrier towards its implementation into daily practice. Busy clinicians who practice evidence-based medicine identify systematic reviews and evidence-based clinical practice guidelines as very useful resources.
Methods:
This review presents a simple, easy-to-follow, three-step searching strategy that emphasises the use of powerful new PubMed features that allow clinicians to retrieve high-quality systematic reviews, clinical practice guidelines and primary studies with a single mouse click. The overall effectiveness of the process is further improved by highlighting the major features of successful and unsuccessful literature searches.
Conclusions:
At the end of this tutorial the reader should be able to conduct efficient and effective literature searches that support clinical decision making in under 10 minutes.
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