An evidence-based approach to research support: applying systematic review methods. Morgan & Mann
•Download as PPT, PDF•
2 likes•310 views
This document provides an overview of evidence-based approaches to research support. It discusses the development of systematic reviews and Cochrane reviews. Key aspects of developing a systematic search strategy are covered, including defining the research question using PICO/PECO, developing search terms, combining concepts, and testing the search strategy. The importance of searching multiple sources and record keeping are emphasized to ensure transparency and reproducibility. The goal is to identify all relevant evidence to answer the research question.
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Similar to An evidence-based approach to research support: applying systematic review methods. Morgan & Mann
Similar to An evidence-based approach to research support: applying systematic review methods. Morgan & Mann (20)
More from IL Group (CILIP Information Literacy Group)
More from IL Group (CILIP Information Literacy Group) (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
An evidence-based approach to research support: applying systematic review methods. Morgan & Mann
- 1. An evidence-based approach to research support Fiona Morgan and Mala Mann LILAC 1 April 2009
- 2. Identifying the Evidence Base • Background and history • Outline of systematic review methods • Identifying the needs of the researcher • Developing a systematic search strategy
- 3. Evidence-based Medicine • Archie Cochrane – British medical researcher – Contribution to development of epidemiology as a science • Cochrane Collaboration (1993) – Improving healthcare decision- making globally, through systematic reviews of the effects of healthcare interventions
- 4. Cochrane systematic reviews • Evidence-based medicine – Clinical answers for more effective healthcare – Pinnacle of the evidence pyramid • Critical summaries of the evidence – Randomised controlled clinical trials • Clear methodology – Transparent – Reproducible
- 5. Expansion of evidence-based methods • 1999 UK Government White Paper Modernising Government: “Government must…produce policies that really deal with problems; that are… shaped by the evidence rather than a response to short-term pressures…. “This Government expects…better use of evidence and research in policy making.”
- 9. What does the researcher want? • A systematic literature search? – Finding all the information on a topic area • Literature review • Informs research • A systematic review of the literature? – Finding and using the best available evidence to answer a specific question
- 10. A systematic review of the literature • Explicit, reproducible methodology – Usually conducted by a team – Systematic literature search – Study selection using pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria – Critical appraisal of included papers – Data extraction – Statistical or narrative summary – Highlights strengths and weaknesses
- 11. Systematic review or systematic literature search? • Same search principles apply • Methodology adapts effectively • Aim is to find ALL the relevant evidence • The finished product only as good as the information that underpins it.
- 12. What is a search strategy? A search strategy is a plan that helps you look for the information you need. [PubMed]
- 13. Developing a systematic search strategy 1. Define the question and break it down 2. Set limits 3. Search each concept and combine 4. Test and refine the search 5. Select databases and other sources of information
- 14. PICO/PECO P = Population/problem I/E = Intervention/Exposure C = Comparison/Control O = Outcome
- 15. Population/ Problem Intervention/ Exposure Comparison/ Control Outcome Inner city residential area Intervention: Neighbourhood Watch scheme Exposure Living in social housing Similar area no watch scheme Being an owner -occupier Reduction in crime Crime rate
- 16. Question PICO • In an inner-city residential area, does the introduction of a neighbourhood watch scheme reduce the level of crime when compared with no watch scheme? PECO • In an inner-city residential area, does the population living in social housing experience a higher level of crime when compared with those living in owner occupied accommodation?
- 17. Question must be…. • Clear • Answerable • Focused Counsell C (1997). Annals of Internal Medicine, 127: 380-387 “Ask a poor question and you will get a poor review”
- 18. Set Limits • Consider inclusion/exclusion criteria – Age group – Publication date – Language – Study design – Settings
- 19. List all relevant keywords Remember…. • Synonyms and acronyms • American and British spellings • Hyphenated vs non-hyphenated
- 20. Identify relevant subject headings • Match keywords to headings • Check how key papers and references are indexed • Subject headings – – To explode or not to explode?
- 21. Wildcards & Truncation * $(n) ? # Manag* home$1 Colo?r Wom#n Manage Manages Manager Managers Managing Management Home Homes (not homeless or homelessness) colour color woman women
- 22. Combining Search Terms • Using Boolean Logic –AND narrows the search • Papers containing both concepts together will be retrieved –OR broadens the search • Articles containing either concept are retrieved • NOT removes a concept • Cuts a concept out of a search
- 23. ADJn Retrieves records containing terms in any order within a specified number (n) of words of each other eg asthma ADJ inhaler The words must appear next to one another “an asthma inhaler” Eg asthma ADJ3 inhaler The words must be within 3 of each other (in any order): “an inhaler for asthma” “using an inhaler for moderate asthma”
- 24. Search strategy 1. child abuse.mp. or Child Abuse/ 2. child protection.mp. 3. (battered child or shaken baby or battered baby).mp. 4. 1 or 2 or 3 5. (child* or infant* or baby).mp. 6. non-accidental injur*.mp. 7. non-accidental trauma.mp. 8. (non-accidental* and injur*).mp. 9. soft tissue injur*.mp. 10. physical abuse.mp. 11. (or/6-10) and 5 12. 4 or 11 13. fractur*.mp. 14. 12 and 13 15. (investigat* adj3 fract*).mp. 16. (radiolog* adj3 fractur*).mp. 17. (roentgen* adj3 fract*).mp. 18. skeletal survey.mp. 19. bone scan*.mp. 20. Isotope Bone Scan*.mp. 21. radionuclide.mp. 22. scintigraphy.mp. 23. Tomography, X-Ray Computed/ 24. ((paediatric or pediatric) adj3 radiolog*).mp. 25. ((paediatric or pediatric) adj3 nuclear medicine).mp. 26. or/15-25 27. (ageing adj3 fractur*).mp. 28. ((dating or date) adj3 fractur*).mp. 29. (pattern* adj3 fractur*).mp. 30. healing.mp. 31. or/27-30 32. 26 or 31 Kemp et al. BMJ 2008;337:a1518
- 25. Searching for study designs Search Filters Collections of search terms designed to retrieve selections of records InterTASC Information Specialists' Sub-Group http:// www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd/intertasc/ McMaster University http://hiru.mcmaster.ca/hiru/HIRU_Hedges_home.asp
- 26. Balance between sensitivity and specificity Sensitivity • Proportion of relevant articles identified by a search strategy, expressed as % of all relevant articles on a given topic • The ability to identify all relevant articles on a given topic Specificity • Proportion of relevant articles identified by the search, as a % of all articles (relevant and irrelevant) • The ability of a search to exclude irrelevant articles Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, CRD Report 4 (2009)
- 27. Is the strategy adequate? • Depends on the size of the evidence base for the topic. • Rough guide - 1:10 or 1:20 relevant references • Use key papers to test the search strategy – Does the search pick up all key papers? – If key papers have been missed why? – Does search need adjusting?
- 28. Range of general, specialist and grey literature databases General ASSIA, CINAHL, Cochrane Library Embase, Medline, Science Citation Index, SCOPUS Social Care Online, Sociological Abstracts, Social Sciences Citation Index Specialist Age Line, ChildData, Community Wise, ERIC, IBSS, IDOX PsycINFO Grey Literature HMIC, Open SIGLE, ReGARD, conference abstracts, websites
- 29. Snowballing • Identify grey literature and new or missed studies • Grey literature – Conference proceedings – Trial registers – Internet searching • Google scholar • Web sites of relevant organisations • Contacting experts – Experts in the field and research networks • Reference lists of relevant papers
- 30. Record everything • Systematic review methodology should be transparent and replicable • Record sources searched, search strategies and results • Use reference management software to manage the search results
- 31. And finally…A few tips • Check out the literature • Are there other reviews in the topic area? • What sources of information do they use – databases, grey literature? • How are key papers indexed in the databases? • Use and adapt other people’s search strategies - it’s not plagiarism.
Editor's Notes
- Development from the initial call for evidence-based clinical medicine in the seventies and early eighties, to the stated intention of government in the late nineties that all policy must be evidence-based. Brief outline of systematic review methodology What is a systematic review – ie, what methodology underpins it? Transparency and reproducibility How we go about identifying the needs of the researcher? Examples of recent requests Developing a systematic search strategy – the foundation for any good piece of research
- Cochrane in Effectiveness and Efficiency: Random Reflections on Health Services (1972) suggested that, as resources would always be limited, they should be used to provide the forms of health care that had been shown to be effective. In particular, he stressed the importance of using evidence from properly conducted randomised controlled trials - which were likely to provide much more reliable information than other sources of evidence. In 1979 he wrote, "It is surely a great criticism of our profession that we have not organised a critical summary, by specialty or subspecialty, adapted periodically, of all relevant randomised controlled trials." This challenge led to the establishment in the 1980s of an international collaboration to develop the Oxford Database of Perinatal Trials and subsequently to the UK Cochrane Centre and then the worldwide Cochrane Collaboration.
- From Opinion-Based Policy to Evidence-Based Policy Evidence-based policy: 'the integration of experience, judgement and expertise with the best available external evidence from systematic research' (Davies, 1999). It’s a balance between professional judgement and expertise and the use of valid, reliable and relevant research evidence.. Sir Muir Gray (1997) has suggested that evidence-based policy and practice involves a shift away from opinion-based decision making to evidence-decision making. Evidence-based decision making draws heavily upon the findings of research that has been gathered and critically appraised. The opinions and judgements of experts that are based upon high quality up-to-date scientific research clearly constitute valid and reliable evidence. Those opinions that are not based upon such scientific evidence, but are unsubstantiated, subjective and opinionated viewpoints do not constitute high quality, valid and reliable evidence. Different types of evidence are generated by different types of research methods and research designs.