Clinical Trials Resources
Trial registries can be used to search for protocols and to identify unpublished studies and outcomes. Resources with the broadest global perspective are listed first.
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WHO International Clinical Trials Registry PlatformCentral database with access to clinical trial data sets from international trial registries around the world.
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ISRCTN RegistryThe ISRCTN (International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number) registers all clinical research studies (proposed, ongoing or completed) and provides each one with a unique identifying number. All study records in the database are searchable and freely accessible.
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Clinical Trials Registers (National and International Registers and Portals)International listing of clinical trials registers compiled by the York Health Economics Consortium, University of York, UK.
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Listing of Clinical Trial RegistriesListing of 24 portals and registries from the Department of Health and Human Services.
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ClinicalTrials.govU.S. National Institutes of Health registry and results database of publicly and privately supported clinical studies of human participants conducted around the world.
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MEDLINE Databank Sources (list at clinicaltrials.gov)MEDLINE citations may carry the databank names listed in the two tables on this page. The ClinicalTrial data repositories are listed in the first table.
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EU Clinical Trials DatabaseAllows you to search for protocol and results information on interventional clinical trials that are conducted in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA) and clinical trials conducted outside the EU / EEA that are linked to European paediatric-medicine development.
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CenterWatch (Clinical Trials Listing Service)Search clinical trials or browse by medical condition, therapeutic area, or location.
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Center for Cancer Research Clinical Trials (National Cancer Institute)"All NCI Center for Cancer Research (CCR) clinical trials take place at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Clinical trials at the NIH Clinical Center are open to patients with cancer, HIV, or immunodeficiency disorders, regardless of where they live in the United States."
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The Yale University Open Data Access (YODA) ProjectA digital repository for clinical research data. The YODA project provides access to the clinical datasets by request. This is useful for gaining access to complete clinical datasets.
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Open Trials (beta)An open, online database of information about the world’s clinical research trials. Matches documents and data for each trial including registry entries, papers, regulatory documents; methods and results; researchers, clinical study reports, and more.
Source Guide: USC (see link and license below)
Selected Clinical Guidelines Resources
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ECRI Guidelines TrustNo charge to use, but registration is required. "This centralized repository includes evidence-based guidance developed by nationally- and internationally-recognized medical organizations and medical specialty societies." ECRI Institute was formerly the sole contractor for the National Guideline Clearinghouse. Guidelines Trust Inclusion Criteria
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The Monopoly Board of Clinical Guidelines (blog post by Janice L. Kacsmarek, ECRI Guidelines Trust)Explains more about the evaluation process for ECRI Trust Guidelines (posted Mar. 11, 2019).
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CPG Infobase: Clinical Practice GuidelinesCanadian clinical practice guidelines.
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NICE Guidelines (UK)National Institute for Health and Care Excellence - United Kingdom.
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TRIP DatabaseSearch engine that collects results from a number of internet sites (mostly based in UK).
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SumSearch 2Web-based search tool for finding medical and health care evidence. From the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA).
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Guideline Central Summaries"Partners with over thirty-five medical societies and government agencies to provide quick-reference tools that physicians can rely on for credible guidance in the management of a medical condition."
Source Guide: partially drawn from McMaster University
Regulatory Information
Clinical and statistical reviews can provide information on directions for use, efficacy and effectiveness, and safety. Some of the more commonly searched resources are listed below.
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Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)Site provides access to U.S. healthcare data and reports on quality, costs, outcomes, and patient safety.
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Drug Information PortalUse one search box to search many drug information resources created by the US National Library of Medicine and other United States government agencies. Search by drug name or category.
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Health Canada - Drugs and Health ProductsHealth Canada regulates drugs and health products in Canada. Find reports and publications, recalls, legislation and guidelines, and additional information.
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Heads of Medicines Agencieshuman and veterinary - European Union
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European Medicines AgencyThe EMA evaluates and supervises medicine for human and veterinary use.
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Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency - UK (MHRA)The MHRA is responsible for regulating all medicines and medical devices in the UK.
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Espacenet - European Patent Office (EPO)Search patents registered with the European Patent Office and additional worldwide patents. Includes machine translations of patents.
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International Imperative for Impact Evaluation (3ie)International Initiative for Impact Evaluation- this site contains policy statements, systematic reviews and a repository of impact evaluations.
Source guides: USC and Wichita State
Regulatory Information - FDA
FDA resources are some of the main resources to search for grey literature, particularly for documents about unpublished clinical trials. The most commonly searched resources are Drugs@FDA and Devices@FDA.
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U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationThis agency regulates medical devices, food safety, drugs, vaccines, cosmetics, and tobacco. Find data on the methods of regulations, ways to report violations, lists of safety alerts and recalls, and approved products in each of these categories.
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Drugs@FDA: FDA Approved Drug ProductsIncludes basic information about all FDA approved drugs, recent news on drug approvals, and drug safety information.
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Devices@FDADevices@FDA is a catalog of cleared and approved medical device information from fda. it includes links to the device summary information, manufacturer, approval date, user instructions, and other consumer information. Devices@FDA searches the following databases: PMN-510(k) remarket Notification PMA-Premarket Approval
Source guides: USC and Wichita State (see links and license below)
Handbook
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Searching the grey literature: A handbook for finding annual reports, working papers, white papers, government documents, and more [Dunbar Library print copy] by Call Number: Z1033.G73 B66 2018ISBN: 9781538100639Publication Date: 2018
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Permissions and License Information
We gratefully acknowledge that the content of this guide (including links, descriptions, and selected categories) is reused/remixed from the following guides and sources under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommerical ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
- Health Sciences Grey Literature, University of Southern California Libraries, Norris Medical Library
- Grey Literature [Video] Tutorial, Western University
- NURS 826 / 899B: Evidence Based Nursing - Grey Literature (reused from USC Norris Library), Wichita State University
- Finding Grey Literature, McMaster University Health Sciences Library
Confirmation of the Creative Commons status of the entire USC guide was also sought and received in writing from the USC Guide Author Karin Saric on 11 July 2019. Reuse permission was granted provided attribution is given.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License.