When you are first starting to plan your search strategy, you should consider what your eligibility criteria will be. This will include all of your inclusion and exclusion criteria for your topic.
Eligibility Criteria
When you are outlining your eligibility criteria, you should think about criteria that could be used both as limiters in the databases, but also as evaluation criteria for when you are reading and narrowing your resources.
Inclusion Criteria
Inclusion criteria are elements of resources that must be present in order to meet the needs of your topic, assignment, or focus. These elements must be present for you to consider using them in your final review.
Some examples include:
Exclusion Criteria
Exclusion criteria are elements of resources that if found would disqualify them from being used in your final review. Sometimes these are closely related to your inclusion criteria, and may not be easily added to your search. Exclusions elements may need to saved for the evaluation stage of your review and considered while reading the full-text of the resources.
Some examples include:
Definitions are extremely important for any evidence synthesis. Whether it is for your research question or your eligibility criteria, it is important that your readers understand how you define your topic. The strongest reviews are those that provide definitions at the start to provide context for the rest of the research.
Example question: Among young adults, what is the effect of social media overuse on the rate of depression?
Definitions to consider: