A systematic literature review
Search strategy
We have conducted this study based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses ( Moher , Liberati , Tetzlaff , Altman , & PRISMA Group . 2010 ) following all steps and guidelines . In order to identify papers on complex systems for public policies , we used the following search strategy :
1 . Select the primary terms that fit the objectives of this study ;
2 . Select the secondary terms based divided in two categories : complexity tools and public policy topics ;
3 . Run iterated searches by doing minor changes in the terms , such as spelling and plurals ;
4 . Link one of the primary terms with one of the secondary terms using fundamental operators ( and , or ).
We used the library system of the University of Sao Paulo ( http :// buscaintegrada . usp . br ) and the Federal University of Sao Paulo ( http :// unifesp .
summon . serialssolutions . com ) to search for articles published in peer-reviewed journals within the period of 2005-2015 . These systems include results arising from the following databases : Art Full Text ; EBSCOhost ; ECCO - Eighteenth Century Collections Online ; Faculty of 1.000 Biology ; Hein Online ; LSN - Legal Scholarship Network ; Modern Language Association ( MLA ); International Bibliography ; MOMW - The Making of the Modern World ; Portal de Periódicos CAPES ( Brazil ); Scopus ; Web of Science and USP internal database ( theses , dissertations etc .). We also searched in the Journal on Policy and Complex Systems , which specializes in the applications of complex systems for public policies .
Search Results
This search strategy resulted in 182 studies . The number of duplicates was low ( n = 7 ), due to the fact that we used only 2 different databases ( USP and UNIFESP ). Next , we read the title , abstract and discussions of all these 175 papers , and then
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