Use of Publicly Obtained Data in Sports Medicine Research: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

Background: Publicly obtained data (POD) have recently been utilized frequently by sports medicine researchers to describe injury patterns, risk factors, and outcomes in elite athletes. The relative ease of this type of research that is based solely on internet and media sources has resulted in a near exponential increase in the number of these POD studies. Purpose: To systematically review the sports medicine literature for studies based solely on POD. Study Design: Systematic review and bibliometric analysis; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: A systematic review of POD studies published since 2000 was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. Studies of interest were those relying on publicly available injury reports or online media for data acquisition in collegiate, semiprofessional, and professional athletes. Results: There were 209 POD studies published between 2000 and 2022, with 173 (82.8%) of these studies published after 2016. Studies were published most frequently on athletes participating in North American professional leagues: National Football League (n = 69 [28.4%]), Major League Baseball (n = 56 [23.0%]), National Basketball Association (n = 37 [15.2%]), and National Hockey League (n = 33 [13.6%]). The most common injuries assessed were head injuries/concussions (n = 43 [21.1%]), anterior cruciate ligament injuries (n = 33 [16.2%]), and ulnar collateral ligament injuries (n = 23 [11.3%]). One-quarter of the studies (n = 53 [25.4%]) reported only 1 POD source, and 1 study (0.5%) reported no source. Additionally, 65 studies (31.1%) listed nonspecific POD resources or solely cited previous literature to describe the POD search methodology and data acquisition. Conclusion: POD studies are exponentially increasing in number, particularly across major North American professional sports leagues, with significant variability in the injury of interest, search methodology, and number of data sources. The accuracy of the conclusions reached based on the POD methodology appears highly variable. Given the potential impact of these publications as both contributors to current knowledge and drivers of future research, the sports medicine community should be aware of the inherent biases and limitations of POD injury studies.

Publicly available data sources in sport-related concussion research: a caution for missing data

“…The current study provides meaningful findings, considering the prevalence of research reports that disseminate results based on analyses using publicly available data. In fact, a recent systematic review and bibliometric analysis identified an exponential increase in manuscripts using this methodology (Inclan et al 2023b ). One example is a recent research report that identified no increased risk of subsequent musculoskeletal injury after sustaining SRC in NFL players (Buckley et al 2022 ), which were in contrast to findings reported at other levels of participation (Lynall et al 2017 ; Nusbickel et al 2022 ; Herman et al 2017 ).…”

The Critical Reader: Data Sources

“…11 Subsequently, between 2003 and February 2022, a total of 209 studies were published using publicly obtained injury data, including 25 studies in the American Journal of Sports Medicine. 6 The strength of publicly obtained datasets is availability. Every researcher has the freedom and the access to study novel ideas.…”

“…Publicly obtained dataset studies use publicly available injury reports in print or online media. 6 These studies typically involve athletes at the professional, semiprofessional, or collegiate level. Common sources cited include game summaries, weekly injury reports, player profiles, and play-by-play documents that are found on team-specific websites, league websites, fantasy sports websites, and popular mainstream media.…”

“…11 Subsequently, between 2003 and February 2022, a total of 209 studies were published using publicly obtained injury data, including 25 studies in the American Journal of Sports Medicine . 6…”