Library Guides: Cochrane Library: Home

What is the Cochrane Library?

Cochrane Library This link opens in a new window
Learn about mobile access The Cochrane Library is a collection of databases that contain different types of high-quality, independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making, including the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), the leading resource for systematic reviews in health care.

The Cochrane Library consists of three sections: the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Cochrane Clinical Answers.

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR)
The leading resource for systematic reviews in health care. The following are also searchable:
- Protocols (systematic reviews currently in process)
- Trials
- Editorials
- Topical Special Collections
- Clinical Answers
- Epistemonikos (additional systematic reviews)
- Health Systems Evidence (a repository of synthesized research evidence related to governance, financial, and delivery arrangements in health systems, and to implementation strategies that can support change within health systems)
- Social Systems Evidence (a repository of synthesized research evidence about the programs, services, and products available in a broad range of government sectors and program areas, as well as the governance, financial, implementation, and delivery arrangements within which programs and services are provided)
The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL)
A highly concentrated source of reports of randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials. Most CENTRAL records are taken from PubMed and Embase, but records are also derived from other published and unpublished sources, including CINAHL , ClinicalTrials.gov, and the WHO's International Clinical Trials Registry Platform.
Cochrane Clinical Answers (CCAs)
This provides a readable, digestible, clinically-focused entry point to rigorous research from Cochrane Reviews. They are designed to be actionable and to inform point-of-care decision-making. Each CCA contains a clinical question, a short answer, and data for the outcomes from the Cochrane Review deemed most relevant to practicing healthcare professionals.

You can start your search by selecting any of the sections described above (see arrows), or you can filter your search results after you initiate a search in the search box.

COVID-19

Cochrane Library - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Cochrane Reviews and related content from the Cochrane Library relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cochrane Special Collections - Coronavirus (COVID-19): evidence relevant to critical care
This Special Collection focuses on evidence relevant to critical care.