Searching beyond databases: Home

Handsearching

Handsearching is a manual process used to supplement traditional database searching and ensures that relevant studies are not overlooked. It also increases the comprehensiveness of your research. 

You will need to identify the journals, conferences, trial registries, reference lists of relevant papers and other sources as required and conduct a manual handsearching process.

Not all reports or papers can be found through database searching because:

• Journal articles may not have been indexed accurately by the database due to lack of information or because only certain journal issues are indexed. These items will not picked up through your search.
• Your search may not have been comprehensive or authors may not have accurately described their articles.
• Some items are not found in traditional databases, e.g. conference proceedings, trials etc.

According to the Cochrane Handbook, handsearching is a 'manual page-by-page examination of the entire contents of a journal issue or conference proceedings to identify all eligible reports of trials'.

Paper discovery tools

Sometimes you need a bit of help to get you going. If you are struggling, these tools can help you to find seed papers or ensure you have not missed out on key articles. They are a good place to start, but keep in mind that they are supplementary to a traditional database search and do not replace the search process. 

Chat-based search:

• LitSense: Type a sentence in the search box and LitSense will retrieve papers containing sentences which match your input sentence. To make words in your input sentence mandatory, put quotation marks around it, e.g. "quality of life". An account is not required.

Find more papers based on a seed paper:

• Connected Papers: Enter a paper DOI, title or URL in the search box. Connected Papers will create a map or network of similar papers based on your seed paper. A free personal account is required.
• Inciteful: Enter a DOI, keyword, or PubMed URL in the search box. You can find relevant literature based on a seed paper or see how two papers are connected. Inciteful will create a map or network of similar papers based on your seed paper. An account is not required.
• Litmaps: Enter a DOI, keyword or author name in the search box. Litmaps will create a map or network of similar papers based on your seed paper. You can also move the papers around on the map to create your own groups. A free personal account is required.
• Research Rabbit: Add a paper to your collection using title, keyword or DOI. Research Rabbit will create a map or network of similar papers based on your seed paper. A free personal account is required.

Grey literature

Grey literature refers to information sources that are beyond the reach of traditional bibliographic databases.  Examples of grey literature include theses and dissertations, conference proceedings, government reports, data and statistics, newsletters, technical reports, standards & clinical guidelines, recommendations, presentations and lecture notes. As grey literature comes from varied sources, it can be typically hard to find.

Grey literature is described as ‘highly desirable’ in the evidence landscape (The Cochrane Collaboration, 2022, see 4.3.5). Grey literature provides a broader perspective on research topics than that provided with only an academic focus. Therefore, it helps reduce publication bias (Paez, 2017) in reviews.

View our Grey Literature Guide for more information about where and how to search for grey literature.

Further reading:

Paez A. (2017). Gray literature: An important resource in systematic reviews. Journal of evidence-based medicine, 10(3), 233–240. https://doi.org/10.1111/jebm.12266

Mahood, Q., Van Eerd, D., & Irvin, E. (2014). Searching for grey literature for systematic reviews: challenges and benefits. Research synthesis methods, 5(3), 221–234. https://doi.org/10.1002/jrsm.1106