Librarian co-authors correlated with higher quality reported search strategies in general internal medicine systematic reviews

Rethlefsen, Melissa L.; Farrell, Ann; Trzasko, Leah C. Osterhaus; Brigham, Tara

doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2014.11.025

Cited by 266 publications

(249 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…In a recent article, Rethlefsen et al showed that librarian participation was significantly associated with search reproducibility and better reporting in general internal medicine systematic reviews [35]. Their findings were very similar to the findings of this study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…More recently, it was suggested that the involvement of a librarian not only helps with selection of databases and other sources, but also with the development of a search strategy to retrieve eligible studies [34]. In a recent article, Rethlefsen et al showed that librarian participation was significantly associated with search reproducibility and better reporting in general internal medicine systematic reviews [35]. To our knowledge, no studies have surveyed the authors of systematic reviews to compare the literature searching component of systematic reviews with and without librarian involvement.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of librarians on reporting of the literature searching component of pediatric systematic reviews

Meert

Torabi

Chen³

2016

J Med Libr Assoc

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Objective: A critical element in conducting a systematic review is the identification of studies. To date, very little empirical evidence has been reported on whether the presence of a librarian or information professional can contribute to the quality of the final product. The goal of this study was to compare the reporting rigor of the literature searching component of systematic reviews with and without the help of a librarian.Method: Systematic reviews published from 2002 to 2011 in the twenty highest impact factor pediatrics journals were collected from MEDLINE. Corresponding authors were contacted via an email survey to determine if a librarian was involved, the role that the librarian played, and functions that the librarian performed. The reviews were scored independently by two reviewers using a fifteen-item checklist.Results: There were 186 reviews that met the inclusion criteria, and 44% of the authors indicated the involvement of a librarian in conducting the systematic review. With the presence of a librarian as coauthor or team member, the mean checklist score was 8.40, compared to 6.61 (p,0.001) for reviews without a librarian.Conclusions: Findings indicate that having a librarian as a coauthor or team member correlates with a higher score in the literature searching component of systematic reviews.Keywords: Systematic Review, Librarian, Critical Appraisal, Literature Search, Reporting There is ample literature assessing the quality of systematic reviews across many disciplines [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16], and a common theme that has emerged from a number of these studies has been the need for improving the conduct and reporting of systematic reviews. Many studies have advocated for and described various roles that librarians and information professionals could play on a review team [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. Several standards and organizations also suggest that a librarian or information professional be involved in the review process [27][28][29][30]. Documents produced by the Campbell Collaboration and a recent Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) Knowledge Synthesis grant competition strongly recommend that an information professional or librarian be included among the members of a review team [31,32].However, to date, there has been very little empirical evidence on whether the presence of a librarian or information professional on a systematic review team contributes to the quality of a systematic review. Golder et al. found that only a very small percentage of reviews reported their search strategy with enough detail to be reproducible, and of those with reproducible searches, nearly half employed an information professional [33]. In the same study, the authors noted that literature searches performed by information professionals tended to be carried out

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of librarians on reporting of the literature searching component of pediatric systematic reviews

Meert

Torabi

Chen³

2016

J Med Libr Assoc

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“…Some data suggest that the participation of librarians and information specialists in systematic review projects is correlated with higher quality search strategies and reporting thereof. 16 • Systematic review authors should conduct hand searches and investigate the grey literature to retrieve information that is not available in electronic databases. No clear guidelines for grey literature search strategies have been established, but a good start would be the utilization of several specialized databases that make evidence from the grey literature available.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quality of search strategies reported in systematic reviews published in stereotactic radiosurgery

Faggion

et al. 2016

BJR

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Results: A total of 85 systematic reviews were included. The median quality score of search strategies was 2 (interquartile range 5 2). Whilst 89% of systematic reviews reported the use of search terms, only 14% of systematic reviews reported searching the grey literature. Multiple linear regression analyses identified publication year (continuous variable), metaanalysis performance and journal impact factor (continuous variable) as predictors of higher mean quality scores. Conclusion: This study identified the urgent need to improve the quality of search strategies within systematic reviews published in the field of SRS. Advances in knowledge: This study is the first to address how authors performed searches to select clinical studies for inclusion in their systematic reviews. Comprehensive and well-implemented search strategies are pivotal to reduce the chance of publication bias and consequently generate more reliable systematic review findings.

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“…They further play key roles in creating systematic reviews that synthesize the best research evidence [53][54][55][56][57]. In recent years, health sciences librarians have been involved in the development and performance evaluations of point-of-care resources at patients' bedsides [58][59][60][61].…”

Section: The New Challengementioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating research into practice

Eldredge¹

2016

J Med Libr Assoc

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Librarian co-authors correlated with higher quality reported search strategies in general internal medicine systematic reviews

Cited by 266 publications

References 34 publications

Impact of librarians on reporting of the literature searching component of pediatric systematic reviews

Impact of librarians on reporting of the literature searching component of pediatric systematic reviews

Quality of search strategies reported in systematic reviews published in stereotactic radiosurgery

Integrating research into practice

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