How do I document a search audit trail so a reviewer can reproduce it?

Record each database, exact query string with field tags, filters, date run, and result count in a table attached to your methods section so a reviewer can rerun each line and compare counts.

Build the table

Use one row per search line and give each row these columns: source or database, interface, full query string as entered (including field tags and Boolean operators), limits and filters, date the search was run, and number of records returned. The Cochrane Handbook treats documenting searches as part of planning and running a review search, and PRISMA 2020 asks for transparent reporting of the methods used and the studies found. A row-level table lets a reviewer match your reported methods to your reported counts.

Steps to assemble it

1. Save the query exactly as the database executed it, with field tags and filters intact. In PubMed, field tags and filters are part of how a search is built, so copying the rendered string preserves what actually ran; the result is a line a reviewer can paste back into the same interface.
2. Log the date each line was run and the count returned at that moment. Databases change as records are added, so the date and count together define the version of the search you reported.
3. Attach the completed table to the methods section and refer to it there. The expected result is that each reported count traces to a specific query, source, and date.

What reviewers check

A reviewer reruns a line in the named database with the same filters and compares the count to your table. A close match supports reproducibility; a mismatch points to a changed query, a different interface, or records added since the run date. Record those differences next to the row so the comparison stays interpretable.

Keep the trail complete

Include supplementary sources you searched, such as reference lists, alongside database rows, since the Cochrane Handbook covers searching reference lists and other sources as part of the search process. Save searches where the interface supports it, as PubMed does with saved searches, and note the saved-search name in the table so the query can be reopened.