Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33031639›Full record

ArticleResearch synthesis methods2021

What every researcher should know about searching - clarified concepts, search advice, and an agenda to improve finding in academia.

Michael Gusenbauer, Neal R Haddaway

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Research synthesis methods, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
10.2field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 69 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Digital Wellness Programs in the Workplace: Meta-Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025
    Review
  4. How do search systems impact systematic searching? A qualitative study.Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA · 2023
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 2 institutions in 4 countries.

Michael GusenbauerDepartment of Strategic Management, Marketing and Tourism, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7768-2351
Neal R HaddawayMercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, Berlin, Germany.
Universität Innsbruck · ATUniversity of Johannesburg · ZA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

We researchers have taken searching for information for granted for far too long. The COVID-19 pandemic shows us the boundaries of academic searching capabilities, both in terms of our know-how and of the systems we have. With hundreds of studies published daily on COVID-19, for example, we struggle to find, stay up-to-date, and synthesize information-all hampering evidence-informed decision making. This COVID-19 information crisis is indicative of the broader problem of information overloaded academic research. To improve our finding capabilities, we urgently need to improve how we search and the systems we use. We respond to Klopfenstein and Dampier (Res Syn Meth. 2020) who commented on our 2020 paper and proposed a way of improving PubMed's and Google Scholar's search functionalities. Our response puts their commentary in a larger frame and suggests how we can improve academic searching altogether. We urge that researchers need to understand that search skills require dedicated education and training. Better and more efficient searching requires an initial understanding of the different goals that define the way searching needs to be conducted. We explain the main types of searching that we academics routinely engage in; distinguishing lookup, exploratory, and systematic searching. These three types must be conducted using different search methods (heuristics) and using search systems with specific capabilities. To improve academic searching, we introduce the "Search Triangle" model emphasizing the importance of matching goals, heuristics, and systems. Further, we suggest an urgently needed agenda toward search literacy as the norm in academic research and fit-for-purpose search systems.

Indexed as

COVID-19Search EngineBiomedical ResearchComputational BiologyHumansInformation Storage and RetrievalPandemicsPublicationsPubMedResearch PersonnelSARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID33031639
PMCPMC7984042
OpenAlexW3092105387

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.