Record each database and interface you searched, the date of the search, and the full search strategy used, then align that list with the studies reported in your PRISMA 2020 flow diagram. The Cochrane Handbook treats documenting searches as a distinct step in planning and running a systematic review search, and PRISMA 2020 asks reviewers to report what methods were used and what studies were found and included.
- List every source before searching. Name each database and the interface or platform used to access it, since the same database can behave differently across interfaces. The Cochrane Handbook covers selecting sources as part of search planning, so fix this list early and add sources only with a recorded reason.
- Capture the strategy and date for each source. Save the exact terms, field tags, filters, and limits applied, plus the date the search ran. In PubMed, field tags, filters, Advanced Search, and saved searches support building and re-running a strategy; store the final version you executed.
- Reconcile the source list with the flow diagram. PRISMA 2020 flow diagrams report records identified, screened, and included. Check that every database named in your methods section appears in the identification counts, and that no count refers to a source you did not list.
- Report the record in the manuscript. Present databases, interfaces, dates, and strategies together so a reader can connect the coverage statement to the flow diagram numbers.
A mismatch between the databases named in your methods and the identification counts in the flow diagram is an unresolved reporting gap. Return to your saved searches and search logs to confirm which sources produced which records before revising either section.