Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37708135›Full record

ArticlePloS one2023

Examining explainable clinical decision support systems with think aloud protocols.

Sabrina G Anjara, Adrianna Janik, Amy Dunford-Stenger, Kenneth Mc Kenzie, Ana Collazo-Lorduy, Maria Torrente, Luca Costabello, Mariano Provencio

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

14 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Observational
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Intelligent Reasoning Cues: A Framework and Case Study of the Roles of AI Information in Complex Decisions.Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems. CHI Conference · 2026
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Human-centered explainability evaluation in clinical decision-making: a critical review of the literature.Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA · 2025
    Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Sabrina G AnjaraAccenture The Dock, Dublin, Ireland.ORCID 0000-0002-1024-4899
Adrianna JanikAccenture Labs Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Amy Dunford-StengerAccenture The Dock, Dublin, Ireland.
Kenneth Mc KenzieAccenture The Dock, Dublin, Ireland.
Ana Collazo-LorduyMedical Oncology Department, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Madrid, Spain.
Maria TorrenteMedical Oncology Department, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Madrid, Spain.
Luca CostabelloAccenture Labs Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Mariano ProvencioMedical Oncology Department, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Madrid, Spain.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Machine learning tools are increasingly used to improve the quality of care and the soundness of a treatment plan. Explainable AI (XAI) helps users in understanding the inner mechanisms of opaque machine learning models and is a driver of trust and adoption. Explanation methods for black-box models exist, but there is a lack of user studies on the interpretability of the provided explanations. We used a Think Aloud Protocol (TAP) to explore oncologists' assessment of a lung cancer relapse prediction system with the aim of refining the purpose-built explanation model for better credibility and utility. Novel to this context, TAP is used as a neutral methodology to elicit experts' thought processes and judgements of the AI system, without explicit prompts. TAP aims to elicit the factors which influenced clinicians' perception of credibility and usefulness of the system. Ten oncologists took part in the study. We conducted a thematic analysis of their verbalized responses, generating five themes that help us to understand the context within which oncologists' may (or may not) integrate an explainable AI system into their working day.

Indexed as

Decision Support Systems, ClinicalOncologistsHumansJudgmentMachine LearningSound

Identifiers

PMID37708135
PMCPMC10501571

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.