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02_search_strategy
Summary
This paper outlines a research plan to find and review existing studies about how tiny plastic particles (microplastics) and pesticides together might disrupt hormones in our bodies. The researchers are being very thorough in searching multiple scientific databases to gather all available evidence about whether this combination of pollutants affects reproductive health. This systematic review will help scientists better understand the potential health risks from being exposed to both microplastics and pesticides at the same time.
Search strategies used to identify studies evaluating combined exposure to microplastics and pesticides with endocrine-disrupting potential. This component will include the full electronic search strategies for PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, and ScienceDirect databases. The strategies will follow PRISMA-S reporting guidelines and will incorporate both controlled vocabulary terms (e.g., MeSH and Emtree) and free-text keywords related to microplastics, pesticides, endocrine disruption, reproductive biomarkers, and bioaccumulation. The search strategies will be designed to maximize sensitivity while maintaining specificity for studies assessing environmental exposure and reproductive health outcomes. Boolean operators, truncation, and database-specific syntax will be applied as appropriate for each database. All search strategies will be documented in full to ensure transparency and reproducibility. The date of the final search and any updates will also be reported. In addition, the reference lists of relevant studies and review articles will be screened to identify additional eligible studies.