ArticleBMC medical research methodology2020
How methodological frameworks are being developed: evidence from a scoping review.
Article in BMC medical research methodology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
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Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The conceptualisation of cardiometabolic disease policy model in the UK.BMC health services research · 2024Pooled it
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- Development and Preliminary Validation of the Chinese Medicine Interventional Clinical Trials Research Question Importance Tool (CMICT-RQIT).Journal of evidence-based medicine · 2026Article
- Horizon Scanning for Medical Technologies: Methodological Framework Development Study of the Medical Innovation Scanning Techniques (MIST) Framework.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Development of the RIPPLES framework for patient and public involvement in rapid evidence syntheses.Research involvement and engagement · 2026Article
- Design of a card-based operational framework for the implementation of inclusive representation in clinical trials.Trials · 2026Article
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- Telling our history: a narrative study with Indigenous elders, wisdom for the coming generation.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- A framework to support dental radiography as part of diagnostic radiography practice.Health SA = SA Gesondheid · 2026Article
- Governing digital health transformation in South Africa: are policies, standards, and legislation fit for purpose?Oxford open digital health · 2026Article
- Optimising clinical trial methods for complex regional pain syndrome: a methodological framework (OptiMeth-CRPS).Pain reports · 2025Article
- Planning and conducting cross-cultural qualitative research: a methodological framework and resources for health researchers.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2025Review
- Development of the Kunonga framework for operationalising approaches to health inequality and/or inequity evidence syntheses.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Development and validation of the UserInvolve comprehensive toolkit for evaluating co-production in research: A guiding resource for researchers.Research involvement and engagement · 2025Article
- NewTools: a novel collaboration across the Norwegian food system with the aim of developing tools for food system transformation.Public health nutrition · 2025Article
- Managing engagement among public, private and civil society actors participating in NewTools: a research partnership on food profiling.Public health nutrition · 2025Article
- Developing a new pragmatic tool for assessing contextual fit and feasibility of evidence-based interventions towards effective implementation in global health.BMJ global health · 2025Article
- Early Detection and Intervention: A Framework for Preventing Academic Failure in Medical Students.Pakistan journal of medical sciences · 2025Article
- Mapping frameworks for synthesizing qualitative evidence in health technology assessment.International journal of technology assessment in health care · 2024Review
- Development and application of ex-ante performance evaluation framework for health projects in China.Scientific reports · 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
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAlthough the benefits of using methodological frameworks are increasingly recognised, to date, there is no formal definition of what constitutes a 'methodological framework', nor is there any published guidance on how to develop one. For the purposes of this study we have defined a methodological framework as a structured guide to completing a process or procedure. This study's aims are to: (a) map the existing landscape on the use of methodological frameworks; (b) identify approaches used for the development of methodological frameworks and terminology used; and (c) provide suggestions for developing future methodological frameworks. We took a broad view and did not limit our study to methodological frameworks in research and academia.
methodsA scoping review was conducted, drawing on Arksey and O'Malley's methods and more recent guidance. We systematically searched two major electronic databases (MEDLINE and Web of Science), as well as grey literature sources and the reference lists and citations of all relevant papers. Study characteristics and approaches used for development of methodological frameworks were extracted from included studies. Descriptive analysis was conducted.
resultsWe included a total of 30 studies, representing a wide range of subject areas. The most commonly reported approach for developing a methodological framework was 'Based on existing methods and guidelines' (66.7%), followed by 'Refined and validated' (33.3%), 'Experience and expertise' (30.0%), 'Literature review' (26.7%), 'Data synthesis and amalgamation' (23.3%), 'Data extraction' (10.0%), 'Iteratively developed' (6.7%) and 'Lab work results' (3.3%). There was no consistent use of terminology; diverse terms for methodological framework were used across and, interchangeably, within studies.
conclusionsAlthough no formal guidance exists on how to develop a methodological framework, this scoping review found an overall consensus in approaches used, which can be broadly divided into three phases: (a) identifying data to inform the methodological framework; (b) developing the methodological framework; and (c) validating, testing and refining the methodological framework. Based on these phases, we provide suggestions to facilitate the development of future methodological frameworks.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.