**Inputs:** [RESEARCH_TOPIC] = Does mindfulness training reduce exam anxiety in university students? · [PURPOSE] = master's thesis · [FIELD_OF_STUDY] = Psychology · [UNIVERSITY] = none · all other fields = defaults Excerpt: Phase 0 (first answer). Claude with web search, no computer access (Level 2). --- # Phase 0: Sharpen the question ## Where we are working I'm on **Level 2** (web chat with web search). Here's what that means for you: - **I can** look up terms in the official thesauri, test search strings in open databases and write every string, table and instruction for you. - **I can't** install or set up software, save files on your computer, import anything into Zotero or see your screen. Automated test searches are often blocked in a web chat; when that happens, I'll give you test links to open. - **You** do the hands-on steps yourself, following my exact instructions. That takes noticeably longer than in a desktop app with computer access (Level 3). If you can switch to one, such as the Claude desktop app, do it. If not, we'll carry on here. **Defaults I'm using:** Windows · APA 7th Edition · last 10 years (2016–2026), English, peer-reviewed · answers in English · Zotero target: a new top-level collection · university access: none (we'll rely on open-access sources and legal alternatives). > **Academic integrity:** Follow your university's rules on using AI tools, and disclose AI use in your thesis if they require it (check your examination regulations or ask your supervisor). Your supervisor and examiners judge your work by those rules, not by mine. --- ## Who does what (Level 2, whole process) | Phase | I do | You do | Your time (estimate) | |---|---|---|---| | 0 – Sharpen the question | Write the framework, research question and concept table; check terms in MeSH and ERIC | Answer the open decisions | 10 min | | 1 – Access | Explain legal routes without a university: open access, public library, alumni access, interlibrary loan | Get a public-library card if you like; install the Unpaywall extension if you like | 15–30 min | | 2 – Zotero | Write a step-by-step setup checklist with exact menu paths | Install Zotero and the Connector, then change the settings | 20–30 min | | 3 – Search strategy | Write full strings for every database; test the open ones (PubMed, Europe PMC, OpenAlex, ERIC) or give you test links | Open the test links and send back hit counts and titles; search licensed databases only if you can get access | 60–120 min | | 4 – Import & organise | Plan the collection tree, tags and screening steps | Import records (Connector, DOI, RIS) and sort them into folders | 60–180 min (depends on hits) | | 5 – Word | Write the plugin steps and a citing guide; check one example reference | Install the Word plugin and insert your first citation | 15–20 min | | 6 – Wrap-up | Write the final checklist and a methods summary | Check references against the originals; back up your library | 30 min | --- ## Framework: PICOS Your question asks whether an intervention changes a psychological outcome, so **PICOS** (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Study design) fits best: it is the standard for intervention questions in clinical and health psychology. | Element | Your topic | |---|---| | **P** – Population | University students (undergraduate and postgraduate, any subject) | | **I** – Intervention | Mindfulness training: MBSR, MBCT, brief or app-based mindfulness, mindfulness meditation | | **C** – Comparison | Waitlist, no intervention, active control (e.g., relaxation, study skills) or usual care | | **O** – Outcome | Exam or test anxiety, measured with a validated scale (e.g., Test Anxiety Inventory, Westside Test Anxiety Scale) | | **S** – Study design | RCTs and controlled trials (main); systematic reviews and meta-analyses (background, citation searching) | ## Research question (searchable form) **"In university students (P), does mindfulness-based training (I), compared with waitlist, no intervention or active control (C), reduce self-reported exam/test anxiety (O) in randomised or controlled studies (S) published 2016–2026?"** --- ## Concept table "Checked" means I saw the term on the official thesaurus page in this session (MeSH via id.nlm.nih.gov, ERIC via eric.ed.gov, 30 Oct 2026). "(verify)" means it's my best guess and still needs checking. | Concept | Free-text synonyms and variants (English) | MeSH (PubMed) | ERIC descriptor | APA Thesaurus (PsycINFO) | |---|---|---|---|---| | **Mindfulness (I)** | mindfulness, mindful*, mindfulness-based intervention/program/training, MBSR, MBCT, MBI, "mindfulness-based stress reduction", "mindfulness-based cognitive therapy", meditation, "body scan", "breathing awareness", "present-moment awareness", "acceptance and commitment therapy" (related only) | **Mindfulness** D064866 – checked; **Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction** D000099024 – checked; **Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy** D000099025 – checked; **Meditation** D019122 – checked | "Mindfulness" is **not a descriptor**: ERIC says to use **Metacognition** instead – checked. "Meditation" is listed as a term (2004) – (verify) | Mindfulness; Meditation – (verify) | | **Exam anxiety (O)** | "test anxiety", "exam anxiety", "examination anxiety", "exam stress", "examination stress", "test-taking anxiety", "evaluation anxiety", "exam-related anxiety", "academic anxiety", "performance anxiety" (broad) | **Test Anxiety** D000083563 – checked; broader term **Performance Anxiety** D060805 – checked; **Anxiety** D001007 – checked; related: **Stress, Psychological** D013315 – checked. Instrument, not a topic: **Test Anxiety Scale** D013732 – checked | **Test Anxiety** – checked (scope note: distress or uneasiness about taking tests; broader term: Anxiety) | Test Anxiety – (verify) | | **University students (P)** | "university student*", "college student*", undergraduate*, postgraduate*, "graduate student*", "medical student*", "nursing student*", "higher education", freshm*, "tertiary education" | **Students** D013334 – checked; **Universities** D014495 – checked; narrower: **Students, Medical** D013337, **Students, Nursing** D013338, **Students, Dental** D013335, **Students, Pharmacy** D013339 – all checked | **College Students** – checked (used for "University Students"; narrower terms include Undergraduate Students and Graduate Students) | College Students; Graduate Students – (verify) | | **Design (S)** | randomi*, RCT, "controlled trial", "control group", quasi-experiment*, "waitlist", "meta-analysis", "systematic review" | Publication types such as Randomized Controlled Trial[pt] and Meta-Analysis[pt] – (verify in Phase 3) | – | Methodology field – (verify) | You chose English, so no other language columns are needed. If you add German in the open decisions, I'll add German terms (Prüfungsangst, Achtsamkeit, Studierende) and PSYNDEX. --- ## Vocabulary pitfalls 1. **"Test Anxiety" in MeSH only exists since 2021.** Before that, NLM indexed these papers under the general term "Anxiety" (1963–2020). Papers from 2016–2020 therefore won't carry the Test Anxiety heading. Free-text terms ([tiab]) are essential. 2. **MBSR and MBCT became MeSH headings only in 2025.** Before that, MBSR was indexed as "Mindfulness" (2013–2024). "Mindfulness" itself dates from 2014; earlier papers were indexed under "Cognitive Therapy". Use the broader heading plus free text. 3. **ERIC has no "Mindfulness" descriptor.** It sends you to "Metacognition", which is a different concept (thinking about one's own thinking). Searching ERIC with that descriptor would bring a lot of noise, so ERIC needs free text for mindfulness. 4. **"Performance Anxiety" is broad.** It includes music performance anxiety and stage fright. If we use it, we'll restrict it (e.g., NOT music*) and test that restriction in Phase 3. 5. **"Exam*" brings noise:** "physical examination", "examination questions", "clinical exam". Use phrases ("exam anxiety", "examination stress") instead of a bare exam*. 6. **"Test Anxiety Scale" (D013732) is a questionnaire heading**, not the outcome topic. It finds only studies indexed by the instrument, so it can't replace "Test Anxiety". 7. **"Student*" alone catches school pupils** (high school students). Combine it with university, college, undergraduate or a health-profession term. 8. **"Mindful*" also catches general uses** (e.g., "mindful of costs"). Truncated mindful* is fine in title and abstract, but expect a few off-topic hits. 9. **"Academic stress" and "academic anxiety"** overlap with exam anxiety but are wider. Using them raises recall and lowers precision; see open decision 4. --- ## Include/exclude criteria | Criterion | Include | Exclude | |---|---|---| | Time | Published 1 Jan 2016 – 30 Oct 2026 | Before 2016 (pre-2016 reviews only as background via citation searching) | | Language | English | All other languages (unless you add German, see decision 7) | | Publication type | Peer-reviewed journal articles | Editorials, letters, comments, conference abstracts without data, preprints (see decision 5) | | Population | University and college students (undergraduate, postgraduate, health-profession students) | School pupils, adults not in higher education, faculty and staff | | Intervention | Mindfulness-based training as the main component (MBSR, MBCT, brief mindfulness, app- or online-based) | Interventions without a mindfulness component (e.g., pure relaxation, CBT without mindfulness, beta-blockers) | | Comparison | Waitlist, no intervention, active control, usual care | No comparison group (see decision 1) | | Outcome | Test/exam anxiety on a validated scale | Only general wellbeing or grades, with no anxiety measure (see decision 4) | | Design | RCTs, cluster RCTs, controlled quasi-experiments; systematic reviews and meta-analyses as a separate group | Case reports, qualitative-only studies, cross-sectional correlations between trait mindfulness and anxiety (see decision 3) | --- ## Open decisions 1. **Study designs:** RCTs plus non-randomised controlled studies; single-group pre-post studies excluded. *Suggestion: OK as written.* 2. **Population:** include health-profession students (medical, nursing, dental, pharmacy), who are often studied. *Suggestion: include them, and record the student group as a subgroup.* 3. **Correlational studies** (trait mindfulness and test anxiety, no intervention): *Suggestion: exclude from the main search, but keep any you find in folder "06 Background".* 4. **Outcome width:** only test or exam anxiety, or also general anxiety and stress measured in an exam period? *Suggestion: test/exam anxiety as the core; general anxiety measured around exams as a secondary folder ("04 Related outcomes").* 5. **Preprints** (PsyArXiv, medRxiv): *Suggestion: exclude from the main analysis; check them once for very recent RCTs and label them clearly.* 6. **Combined interventions** (e.g., ACT, yoga with mindfulness, mindfulness plus CBT): *Suggestion: include them, but sort them into folder "02 Mixed exposure" and report them separately.* 7. **Languages:** English only, or also German (you could read PSYNDEX)? *Suggestion: English only, as in the defaults.* 8. **Grey literature** (dissertations, trial registries such as ClinicalTrials.gov): *Suggestion: search ClinicalTrials.gov and OATD (free) for ongoing or unpublished trials, but don't include them in the main analysis.* 9. **Access:** you have no university access. Are you enrolled anywhere (even as a guest), or could you get a public-library or alumni card? *Suggestion: tell me, because it decides whether PsycINFO, Web of Science or Scopus are realistic options at all.* 10. **Zotero collection name:** *Suggestion: "Masterthesis – Mindfulness & Test Anxiety".* --- **YOUR TURN** (about 10 minutes) 1. Read the research question and the include/exclude table above. Write down anything you'd like to change. 2. Go through open decisions 1–10. For each number, write "OK" (you accept my suggestion) or your own choice. 3. For decision 9, say whether you have any access (enrolment, guest status, public library, alumni). Don't send any login data. **Done when:** you have one short answer for each of the 10 numbers. **Then send me:** your answers in one message, e.g. "1 OK, 2 OK, 3 OK, 4 only test anxiety, 5 OK, 6 OK, 7 OK, 8 OK, 9 no access at all, 10 OK" plus any changes to the question. **If something looks different:** if a term or decision is unclear, send me its number and your question. --- ## Phase 0 checklist - [x] Level stated (Level 2), defaults listed, integrity reminder given - [x] Who-does-what table for all phases - [x] Framework chosen (PICOS) and explained - [x] Research question written in searchable form - [x] Concept table with synonyms; MeSH and ERIC terms checked (IDs shown); APA Thesaurus terms marked "(verify)" - [x] Vocabulary pitfalls noted (Test Anxiety since 2021, MBSR/MBCT since 2025, ERIC Mindfulness → Metacognition) - [x] Include/exclude table - [ ] Open decisions 1–10 answered by you Ready for the next phase, or do you want to adjust anything?