ArticleResearch synthesis methods2021
What every researcher should know about searching - clarified concepts, search advice, and an agenda to improve finding in academia.
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.
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
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 69 citations in OpenAlex.
- Computational models predicting the early development of the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden: systematic review, data synthesis, and secondary validation of accuracy.Scientific reports · 2022Pooled it
- Implementation determinants and outcomes of artificial intelligence in surgical healthcare: a systematic review protocol.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Digital Wellness Programs in the Workplace: Meta-Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Review
- How do search systems impact systematic searching? A qualitative study.Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA · 2023Article
- Literature searching methods or guidance and their application to public health topics: A narrative review.Health information and libraries journal · 2022Review
- Search where you will find most: Comparing the disciplinary coverage of 56 bibliographic databases.Scientometrics · 2022Article
- 40 years of research on eating disorders in domain-specific journals: Bibliometrics, network analysis, and topic modeling.PloS one · 2022Article
- Article
- The age of abundant scholarly information and its synthesis- A time when 'just google it' is no longer enough.Research synthesis methods · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
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.
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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.