Evidence-based Medicine
The secondary literature synthesises the primary research into review articles, evidence summaries, clinical guidelines etc, making it easier for busy clinicians to quickly find the answers they need, based on the available evidence.
- Cochrane Library This link opens in a new window
Systematic reviews of the effects of healthcare which includes the following databases: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Cochrane Clinical Answers (CCAs), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
Please note: to access off campus, select 'Sign in', 'Institutional login' and then choose 'University of Bristol'. - NICE Evidence Search This link opens in a new window
A portal providing access to clinical and non-clinical evidence and best practice for healthcare, public health and social care. Aimed at NHS staff in the UK, it is provided by NICE: the National Institute for Health Care Excellence. University of Bristol medical and dental students in Years 3-5 and University of Bristol staff with joint NHS/University appointments can also access NHS Core Content medical databases through the portal using their NHS login.
- Turning Research into Practice (TRiP) This link opens in a new window
Searches simultaneously across over 75 evidence-based practice oriented web resources and presents the results in categories.
- BMJ Best PracticeClick on 'Log in' and select 'Access via your institution'. Search for, and select, NHS University of Bristol. Enter your main Athens username and password and then create a personal account.
Additional health resources
Grey Literature
- Overton This link opens in a new window
NB: This database can be browsed on campus without signing into the Overton site. Off campus, users need to register on the Overton registration page with their @bristol.ac.uk email address. Overton allows users to discover policy documents in 180 countries and explore their links to each other and to the academic research that has informed them. Overton indexes work from governments, universities, IGOs, NGOs, research funders, publishers and think tanks to understand their role in the policymaking landscape. Users can track the evolution of ideas all the way from academic and think tank research to government reports and legislation.
Policy Commons could be another source of useful grey literature.
- Policy Commons This link opens in a new windowUse Policy Commons to discover and follow high-quality policy research from 210 countries and territories produced by world’s leading policy experts, charities, think tanks, IGOs and NGOs. Includes publications from inactive organisations that may not be available elsewhere. For help with searching see https://coherentdigital.net/resources2-1
Our Grey Literature quick reference guide has details of many sources of grey literature. It is available with our database guides to health and biomedical databases.
Systematic Reviews
If you are undertaking a systematic or scoping review have a look at our guide to Systematic Reviews within the Health Sciences.
Useful books
Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions
The "gold standard guide" for doing a systematic review.
How to read a paper : the basics of evidence-based medicine and healthcare
A recommended book. See Chapter 2: Searching the literature.