Searching and Review Clinics

What?

These clinics have been set up to help the PenARC Evidence Synthesis Team to manage and respond to systematic review related queries from within the geographical area covered by PenARC. Whether you are an academic or an NHS professional who needs to know where to start on the systematic review process or how to go about designing a search strategy, you can book an appointment with one of our reviewers or information specialists.

Please note: The EST Search and Review clinics are currently experiencing a high level of demand, with some people having to wait several weeks for an appointment. We have been scheduling additional appointments where possible but have limited capacity to do so alongside our current work programme.

It may be worth considering whether an appointment at one of the clinics is the most appropriate avenue for your enquiry. Please note that the clinics are designed to address systematic review related queries. If you are not planning to do a systematic review then a clinic appointment (especially one that you have to wait several weeks to attend) may not be the best use of your time. If you need general searching advice this can be obtained from either of the University libraries (Plymouth, Exeter). Please see our FAQs for further details on where to find help with your literature search.

When?

The clinics will be held every two to three weeks where possible, and will typically consist of between 3-6 half-hour appointment slots (N.B. appointment times may vary according to the availability of staff and/or a suitable meeting room).

Where?

During the COVID-19 pandemic:clinics will be held online, via either Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Individual calendar appointments with joining instructions will normally be circulated 1-2 days prior to the clinic.

Under normal cirucmstances: clinics will be held either in South Cloisters at the University of Exeter's St Luke's Campus, or in the ITTC Building at Plymouth Science Park, unless otherwise advertised.

Who?

When booking an appointment you will need to state who you want to see. In order to help you make that decision here are some general areas that we can help with:

Information specialist – informing search strategies, using Endnote as your reference library, managing your references, searching databases effectively, using local resources.

Reviewer – developing your protocol, describing the systematic review process, guidance on screening, data extraction and quality assessment (critical appraisal) and synthesis.

If you wish to see both a reviewer and an information specialist, we would recommend booking two consecutive appointments at the same clinic where possible, to allow sufficient time to cover your enquiry in detail.

How to book:

Please click on one of the specific dates below to be taken to the relevant registration page.

When you book an appointment you will need to give us some details including your name, the name of your project, your research question, what you have done so far on the review and what you need help with. You will also need to let us know who your supervisors are (if applicable) and whether you would like an appointment with a reviewer, an information specialist, or both.

Where possible, appointments will remain bookable until 48 hours before the clinic begins, although we will occasionally need to close the booking system earlier due to staff leave.

Please note our fair usage policy:

In order to maximise the availability of the team to respond to requests in the allocated time, you may book a maximum of 2 appointments per clinic, of which 1 must be with a reviewer and 1 with an information specialist. Any additional bookings made for the same clinic by or on behalf of the same person will be declined. You may book further appointments at future clinics.
Due to current demand, if you make an appointment that you subsequently find you cannot attend, it would be appreciated if you could inform us as soon as possible in order to free up the space for others. Serial non-attenders may be barred from future clinics. Please see our FAQs for further information on how to cancel your appointment.

COVID-19 update:

As a result of the pandemic, all PenARC staff are currently working remotely. While this continues we will endeavour to offer virtual clinic appointments via Microsoft Teams for all future dates until further notice. However, please be aware that we may occasionally have to take the decision to postpone or cancel appointments should an online connection not be feasible.

Forthcoming dates (when available to book, future dates will appear in bold):