Evidence-based retrieval in evidence-based medicine.
| Title | Evidence-based retrieval in evidence-based medicine. |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 2004 |
| Authors | Patrick TB, Demiris G, Folk LC, Moxley DE, Mitchell JA, Tao D |
| Journal | Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA |
| Volume | 92 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pagination | 196-9 |
| Date Published | 2004 Apr |
| ISSN | 1536-5050 |
| Keywords | Evidence-Based Medicine; Humans; Information Storage and Retrieval; Librarians; Library Services; Meta-Analysis as Topic; Peer Review; Publication Bias; United States |
| Abstract | OBJECTIVE: Clinical decisions based on a meta-analysis that is based on an ineffective retrieval strategy may have serious negative consequences for patients. The study objective was to investigate the extent to which meta-analyses report proof of their retrieval strategies' effectiveness. METHODS: The authors examined a random sample (n = 100) of articles in the 1996 to 2002 full-text subset of Ovid MEDLINE indexed as "meta-analysis." We classified the articles in three ways: the article (A) reported both a retrieval strategy in sufficient detail (such that it could be repeated) and with evidence of the strategy's effectiveness, (B) reported a retrieval strategy in sufficient detail but not with evidence of the strategy's effectiveness, or (C) neither reported a strategy in detail nor evidence of the strategy's effectiveness. Articles classified as (A) were further classified according to the level of evidence reported. RESULTS: Of the eighty-nine articles in our final analysis, six (6.7%) were classified as category (A), fifty-seven (64%) as (B), and twenty-six (29%) as (C). Articles in category (A) reported a previously validated search, a published strategy, or strategy based on expert opinion. CONCLUSION: Peer-review standards must be developed that require authors of meta-analyses to report evidence for the effectiveness of their retrieval strategies. |
| URL | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC385300/ |
| Alternate Journal | J Med Libr Assoc |
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