ArticleSystematic reviews2016
Exploring issues in the conduct of website searching and other online sources for systematic reviews: how can we be systematic?
Article in Systematic reviews, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Falling short on implementation of fall prevention guidelines in health services: a systematic review with meta-analysis.Age and ageing · 2025Pooled it
- Exploring the impact of housing insecurity on the health and wellbeing of children and young people in the United Kingdom: a qualitative systematic review.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Can We Go Online for Sports Injury Prevention? A Systematic Review of English-Language Websites with Exercise-Based Sports Injury Risk Reduction Programmes.Sports medicine - open · 2021Pooled it
- Post-operative pain management modalities employed in clinical trials for adult patients in LMIC; a systematic review.BMC anesthesiology · 2021Pooled it
- Boxing for Parkinson's Disease: Has Implementation Accelerated Beyond Current Evidence?Frontiers in neurology · 2019Pooled it
- Interventions targeting conscious determinants of human behaviour to reduce the demand for meat: a systematic review with qualitative comparative analysis.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2018Pooled it
- Restructuring physical micro-environments to reduce the demand for meat: a systematic review and qualitative comparative analysis.The Lancet. Planetary health · 2018Pooled it
- A comparison of results of empirical studies of supplementary search techniques and recommendations in review methodology handbooks: a methodological review.Systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- Reply to: Accurately synthesising evidence for long COVID rehabilitation.ERJ open research · 2026Article
- The value of adding 'grey literature' in evidence synthesis for equity-driven global health: a case study from Small Island Developing States.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Harnessing routinely collected data for the evaluation of early years interventions: insights from a scoping review of evaluation studies.International journal of population data science · 2026Article
- Support Needs and Available Resources for School-Aged Siblings of Children With Disabilities: A Mixed Methods Study.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARID · 2026Article
- Scoping review of evidence on front-of-pack warning labels and nutrition and health variables in Peru.Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health · 2026Review
- Representation of neuro-oncology in American neurology departments: An analysis of Grand Rounds and perspectives from faculty and residents.Neuro-oncology practice · 2025Article
- Supplementary search methods versus bibliographic database searching to identify studies and study reports.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Article
- Protocol for an undergraduate student-led scoping review of methods used to conduct inclusive focus groups with autistic adolescents.PloS one · 2025Article
- Data for public health analysis in the ASEAN countries: a scoping review protocol.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Public health involvement in alcohol licensing decisions in the UK: a systematic review of qualitative studies.BMJ public health · 2024Article
- Searching for studies: A guide to information retrieval for Campbell systematic reviews.Campbell systematic reviews · 2024Article
- A scoping review of websites for forensic odontology training programs.The Journal of forensic odonto-stomatology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Websites and online resources outside academic bibliographic databases can be significant sources for identifying literature, though there are challenges in searching and managing the results. These are pertinent to systematic reviews that are underpinned by principles of transparency, accountability and reproducibility. We consider how the conduct of searching these resources can be compatible with the principles of a systematic search. We present an approach to address some of the challenges. This is particularly relevant when websites are relied upon to identify important literature for a review. We recommend considering the process as three stages and having a considered rationale and sufficient recordkeeping at each stage that balances transparency with practicality of purpose. Advances in technology and recommendations for website providers are briefly discussed.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.