Go to Embase and click on the link for Emtree at the top of the page. Emtree is the controlled vocabulary for Embase and can be searched like MeSH. Paste the MeSH terms from your PubMed search into Emtree (minus the quotation marks and field tags) to find the Emtree equivalents.
Use the "Add to Query Builder" feature and paste the resulting formatted Emtree term into the appropriate search concept in a Word document for your Embase search. You can also use the "Show results" button to capture the formatted Emtree term. This function will run a search in Embase for a particular Emtree term, and the results page will show that term properly formatted. An example of a formatted Emtree term is 'neonatal intensive care unit'/exp.
Check the "Synonyms" at the bottom of the Emtree record for any unique keywords.
Use the keywords from your PubMed search (plus any additional keywords found in Emtree) as keywords for your Embase search. Format the keywords in your Embase search using the following convention - search term:ti,ab. An example of a formatted keyword term for Embase is 'hand washing':ti,ab.
Use single quotes instead of double quotes for phrases.
Use an asterisk for truncation.
Note: Embase allows truncation within quoted phrases (e.g. 'neonatal intensive care unit*':ti,ab).
Use one of the Embase RCT search filters listed in the "RCT Filter for Embase" box below.
Use the same arrangement of Boolean operators that you used in PubMed to combine your terms and concepts in Embase.
Use the Embase advanced search to run the individual concepts of your search and then combine them with AND using the search history. This is a very similar process as the one you used for PubMed.
Note: For more information about Embase searching, see the "More about Embase" box below.
Choose one of the following RCT filters for your Embase search.
Cochrane recently funded the development of a highly sensitive search strategy for identifying reports of controlled trials in Embase. This search filter was designed for the Ovid version of Embase and was developed, tested, and validated in 2016 and revised in 2019 (Cochrane Handbook, Chapter 4, Technical Supplement). Variations of this filter have been used over time to identify reports of controlled trials in Embase for inclusion in CENTRAL, and the Ovid version has been translated into a version that will run in Embase.com, the database we are using in this class.
To add this search filter to your Embase search, follow these steps:
Source: Glanville J, Foxlee R, Wisniewski S, Noel-Storr A, Edwards M, Dooley G. Translating the Cochrane EMBASE RCT filter from the Ovid interface to Embase.com: a case study. Health Info Libr J. 2019 Sep;36(3):264-277. doi: 10.1111/hir.12269. Epub 2019 Jul 22.
The Lefebvre et al. version of the Cochrane highly sensitive search strategy for identifying randomized trials in Medline (translated for use in Embase.com):
'crossover procedure':de OR 'double-blind procedure':de OR 'randomized controlled trial':de OR 'single-blind procedure':de OR (random* OR factorial* OR crossover* OR cross NEXT/1 over* OR placebo* OR doubl* NEAR/1 blind* OR singl* NEAR/1 blind* OR assign* OR allocat* OR volunteer*):de,ab,ti
Source: Lefebvre C, Eisinga A, McDonald S, Paul N. Enhancing access to reports of randomized trials published world-wide - the contribution of EMBASE records to the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) in The Cochrane Library. Emerging Themes in Epidemiology 2008; 5:13.
Embase, the Excerpta Medica database, provides access to biomedical and pharmacological information from international literature. More than 27 million records with abstracts from Embase (1974-present) and Medline (1966-present) are de-duplicated and searchable with Emtree, Embase's controlled vocabulary. Over 2,800 journals are unique to Embase.
