Tag: Systematic Reviews

Courses · Events · Journal club meetings

Literature Search Peer Review Buddy Scheme: Round 7 Now Open

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The HSLG Committee is pleased to announce Round 7 of the Literature Search Peer Review Buddy Scheme.

About the scheme

The scheme began in 2023 as a way for library staff and information specialists in Ireland to learn from each other about literature searching. It gives librarians who run searches a chance to meet peers and share expertise, which helps improve the quality of their searches.

How it works in Round 7

This round pilots a new activity. You act as a journal peer reviewer and appraise the search strategy of a published systematic review.

All librarians and information specialists based in Ireland are welcome to register. Once registration closes, you will be placed in a group of 4-5 participants. Your group will discuss your notes on the article’s search strategy. The PRESS Checklist 2015 (Table 9) can help you structure your appraisal, but you don’t have to use it.

Timeline

  • 1 to 20 October 2026: Registration is open.
  • 21 October: Participants are told their group and sent a link to the systematic review assigned to it. You will also receive instructions on how to plan your feedback.
  • 21 October to 1 December: Each participant appraises the search strategy of the assigned paper. Your group then arranges a 1-hour virtual meeting to discuss your approach and agree what to tell the journal editor. Everyone should contribute, and the group should aim to reach a joint conclusion.
  • After 1 December: One member of each group completes the evaluation form.

Register

Register for Round 7 here: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/t/MHXAI4/

Courses · Events

Webinar: Moving Targets of AI in Systematic Reviews: Where Are We and How to Keep Up

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HSLG is hosting an online webinar on Thursday 26th November 2026, from 11:00 to 12:30 GMT. Register on Eventbrite.

Library clients’ questions and needs have expanded. Common questions include which tools to choose, how to use them correctly, and how to report their use. Assessing vendors’ claims independently is crucial, and health libraries are a trusted source of guidance in bridging the responsible-use gap between the tech’s rapid growth and the slow development of legal and ethical guardrails.

This webinar provides a practical guide to choosing appropriate search approaches, writing prompts, evaluating tools and their outputs, and teaching researchers how to use them responsibly.

Learning objectives

  • Distinguish the search types and explain their relevance to systematic reviews
  • Outline copyright and licensing considerations and identify relevant AI features
  • Describe selected prompt engineering techniques and frameworks
  • Identify key checks when choosing a tool for a systematic-review task
  • Recognise limitations of different AI approaches and identify appropriate checks on outputs
  • Outline a practical plan for keeping up with AI developments

About the speaker

Dr Farhad Shokraneh is Evidence Synthesis Manager at the Infectious Diseases Data Observatory (IDDO), University of Oxford. He has a PhD in Medicine and has worked as an Evidence Scientist at King’s College London, University College London, UCLH, and Cambridge University. With 22 years of experience in evidence synthesis, he has led teams from five continents and delivered projects for organisations including WHO, UN, UNICEF, FDA, NHS, UK NIHR, Cochrane, AWMF, and NICE.

The Evidence Review Accelerator (TERA) – Helpful Tools and Tips for Information Specialists

The Evidence Review Accelerator (TERA) – Helpful Tools and Tips for Information Specialists

This workshop will show participants how to use the Evidence Review Accelerator (TERA) to improve the speed and quality of conducting systematic reviews. This workshop will cover all tools, but will focus on the tools most helpful for information specialists. The workshop will comprise live demonstrations of TERA, conducted by Justin Clark, developer of TERA, the Two-Week Systematic Review (2weekSR) methodology and experienced Information Specialist. The expert skills of the presenter in both conducting reviews and using the tools are a key component of the workshop.

All the tools in the workshop are free and available via TERA: https://tera-tools.com/

The workshop will comprise the following plan:

  • Brief introduction to TERA.
  • Demonstration of creating focused searches using the Word Frequency Analyser, SearchRefiner, Polyglot Search Translator and the Deduplicator.
  • Demonstration of Generative AI-powered screening using MechaScreener.
  • Demonstration of citation searching with SpiderCite.
  • Using TERA Farmer to identify any further relevant studies missed by the database and citation search.

Register here to attend.

Searching for Systematic Reviews: Advanced Design Methods Course

Searching for Systematic Reviews: Advanced Design Methods Course

Join Julie Glanville & Carol Lefebvre online over 2 days on April 22nd & 29th.

This course will look at advanced methods for search strategy design for systematic reviews and other evidence syntheses. Participants will learn how to structure and build search strategies using a range of techniques and for a range of review questions. An official Instats certificate of completion and 1 ECTS equivalent point are provided at the conclusion of the training.

Day 1: Advanced Design Methods for PICO Questions
• Text mining
• Boolean operators
• Term identification
• PICO
• Strategy design
• AI
• Term identification
• Search strategies
• Search filters
• Search hedges
• PICO
• Strategy design
Day 2: Design Methods for Complex Questions and Searches
• AI
• Complex questions
• Complex searches
• Strategy design
• Citation analysis
• Combined search approaches
• Complex questions
• Multistanded searches
• Complex searches
• Strategy design
• Guidance
• Non-PICO questions
To book your place click here.
Librarians Supporting Literature Reviews with Covidence

Librarians Supporting Literature Reviews with Covidence

Literature reviews and evidence synthesis are more than search strategies and screening workflows. They are collaborative and evolving partnerships between librarians and research teams.

Join us for a discussion with experienced librarians as they share stories from the field: how they got started in evidence synthesis, lessons learned from challenging review teams, how they navigate authorship and expectations, and how their roles are evolving.

If you are a librarian supporting researchers on their evidence synthesis journey, please join us for this informal yet insightful discussion which will explore what really happens behind the scenes of systematic reviews across disciplines, methodologies, and team dynamics. Whether you’re new to supporting reviews or looking to refine your approach, you’ll walk away with practical insights and real-world perspective.

If you can’t attend the live session, register anyway and you will receive a recording 48 hrs after the session.

https://events.zoom.us/ev/AmUZZRAwdr1rz_iuLZog2955lxhNN560w0Yhh5t7WttIu-DOXgy6~AkrqEesdwetCSy4wCsHz331FZiQwVOvRi7_NGWdkykR0wSWXpq7dnuj-XA?lmt=1775050166000&utm_source=email

2026 Cochrane Colloquium

2026 Cochrane Colloquium

The Cochrane Colloquium brings together people from around the world to exchange ideas, share experiences, and engage in dialogue on the most pressing questions related to evidence generation, synthesis, and use across health and beyond. It is a unique forum for collaboration across disciplines, regions, and perspectives.

As the world of evidence continues to evolve rapidly, the 2026 Colloquium will provide space to reflect, connect, and collectively explore how evidence can best respond to emerging challenges and opportunities while remaining rigorous, transparent, inclusive, and trusted.

 

Early Bird Registration €1300 (until May 11th)

Click here for more information and to register.

Systematic Approaches to Searching for Evidence

Systematic Approaches to Searching for Evidence

Sheffield Centre for Health Related Research (SCHARR) are holding an online interactive course on Systematic Approaches to Searching for Evidence.

Held over two mornings this course will cover the key principles of searching for published and unpublished evidence in a systematic, transparent way.

  • Day 1: Tues 10 March 2026 | 9am–1pm
  • Day 2: Tues 24 March 2026 | 9am–2pm

Ideal for postgraduate students, early career researchers, librarians and information specialists across health, social sciences, and public policy.

Course programme

Day 1

  • The role of the literature search in the evidence review process
  • Scoping the literature and choosing sources
  • Matching your search approach to the particular review method
  • Turning a research question into a search strategy

Delegates will be given a search task to complete in their own time, between days 1 and 2 (please allow approximately 1 hour for this).

Day 2

  • Common pitfalls of searching (including feedback on search task)
  • Reporting searches
  • Beyond the “big bang” search – complementary and iterative methods, and when to use them
  • Emerging techniques
  • Knowing when to stop

For more information and to book your place click here.

Developing Systematic Search Skills: Peer-to-Peer Learning with Practice Sets

Taubman Library Talks present a free webinar on December 15th @ 5pm on Developing Systematic Search Skills: Peer-to-Peer Learning with Practice Sets.

Presenters Jenna Lepczyk and Perry Wiedling will walk attendees through how to use self-directed, hands-on practice sets designed specifically for improving their systematic review searching.

Discover practical strategies, explore step-by-step techniques, learn what questions to ask the research team, and get your questions answered—all in a supportive and safe space! 

Early career librarians are encouraged to attend, or anyone interested in learning more about systematic searching.

This session will utilize resources on the Systematic Review Practice Sets site, created by Informationists at the University of Michigan Taubman Health Sciences Library (UM-THSL) and populated with practice sets created by UM-THSL Informationists (Practice Sets – health sciences focus) and librarians at the University of Minnesota (More Practice Sets – sciences, social sciences, and beyond).

The Practice Set used for this webinar is #37121242 (“Effectiveness of handwashing with soap for preventing acute respiratory infections in low-income and middle-income countries”), available on the Practice Sets page. We encourage attendees to preview it before the session, but it’s not required.

For more information on this and to get the Zoom link, please visit: https://guides.lib.umich.edu/TaubmanTalks/Peer2PeerSearch