Background
Information specialists (ISs) are a key member of systematic review teams. They develop and run complex and comprehensive searches across multiple databases for each new review. ISs may use pre-existing searches developed for other reviews, search filters, topic experts and their own experience to develop the searches. Citation searching is often done at the end of the process to try and find additional relevant studies which the database searches did not find. They learn the art of searching mainly through experience. Search summary tables (SSTs) are a valuable method of summarising the search methods while search evaluations are a way to discover what terms were most valuable and which terms may have been missing from your search. Both of these methods are a way to evaluate and learn from what you have done.
Objective
To share how SSTs and search evaluations have been used to aid update searches, new systematic reviews and individual development.
Methods
This presentation will showcase three case studies where SSTs were completed within an evidence synthesis project. For each of the three case studies to be shared, a SST was completed at the end of the original search. Following that, a search evaluation was completed.
Results
The first case study, a systematic review, presents how a SST provided the evidence on which databases to use for the update search towards the end of the review process. The second case study, a systematic map, presents where the search evaluation from the map influenced the search for a systematic review in a related topic. The final case study that will be shared, a review of reviews, presents an example of where both the SST and the search evaluation aided the decisions for the update search
Conclusions
By sharing these case studies we hope to show how invaluable a SST and a search evaluation can be, for informing both update searches and new searches in similar topic areas.

This work is important to patients by continuing to help ensure our searches are evidence based