When Conducting a Search Why Might You Include Review in Your Search Criteria
Indian J Anaesth. 2016 Sep; 60(9): 635–639.
Literature search for research planning and identification of research problem
Anju Grewal
Section of Anaesthesiology, Dayanand Medical College and Infirmary, Ludhiana, Punjab, India
Hanish Kataria
1Department of Surgery, Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, India
Ira Dhawan
2Department of Cardiac Anaesthesia, All Republic of india Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, Bharat
Abstract
Literature search is a key step in performing good authentic enquiry. It helps in formulating a research question and planning the study. The bachelor published data are enormous; therefore, choosing the appropriate articles relevant to your report in question is an fine art. It can be time-consuming, tiring and can lead to disinterest or even abandonment of search in between if not carried out in a step-wise manner. Various databases are available for performing literature search. This article primarily stresses on how to formulate a research question, the diverse types and sources for literature search, which volition assistance make your search specific and time-saving.
Key words: Literature, methods, research planning
INTRODUCTION
Literature search is a systematic and well-organised search from the already published data to place a breadth of adept quality references on a specific topic.[1] The reasons for conducting literature search are numerous that include drawing information for making evidence-based guidelines, a stride in the enquiry method and every bit function of academic assessment.[2] However, the main purpose of a thorough literature search is to codify a inquiry question past evaluating the bachelor literature with an center on gaps notwithstanding amenable to further research.
Research problem[three] is typically a topic of involvement and of some familiarity to the researcher. It needs to be channelised by focussing on information yet to be explored. Once nosotros have narrowed down the problem, seeking and analysing existing literature may further straighten out the research approach.
A enquiry hypothesis[4] is a advisedly created testimony of how you expect the inquiry to proceed. It is one of the near of import tools which aids to answer the research question. Information technology should be apt containing necessary components, and raise a question that can be tested and investigated.
The literature search can be exhaustive and time-consuming, merely there are some elementary steps which can help you plan and manage the process. The most of import are formulating the inquiry questions and planning your search.
FORMULATING THE Research QUESTION
Literature search is washed to place appropriate methodology, blueprint of the study; population sampled and sampling methods, methods of measuring concepts and techniques of analysis. It also helps in determining extraneous variables affecting the outcome and identifying faults or lacunae that could exist avoided.
Formulating a well-focused question is a disquisitional pace for facilitating good clinical enquiry.[5] There can be general questions or patient-oriented questions that ascend from clinical issues. Patient-oriented questions can involve the effect of therapy or disease or examine advantage versus disadvantage for a group of patients.[half dozen]
For instance, nosotros want to evaluate the effect of a particular drug (east.thousand., dexmedetomidine) for procedural sedation in twenty-four hour period care surgery patients. While formulating a research question, one should consider certain criteria, referred as 'FINER' (F-Feasible, I-Interesting, N-Novel, E-Ethical, R-Relevant) criteria.[5] The idea should be interesting and relevant to clinical research. It should either confirm, abnegate or add information to already washed research work. One should likewise go along in mind the patient population under study and the resources bachelor in a given prepare up. Also the unabridged enquiry procedure should conform to the ethical principles of inquiry.
The patient or report population, intervention, comparing or command arm, main outcome, timing of measurement of issue (PICOT) is a well-known approach for framing a leading research question.[seven,8] Dividing the questions into key components makes information technology easy and searchable. In this case scenario:
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Patients (P) – What is the of import group of patients? for case, twenty-four hours care surgery
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Intervention (I) – What is the important intervention? for instance, intravenous dexmedetomidine
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Comparison (C) – What is the important intervention of comparison? for example, intravenous ketamine
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Issue (O) – What is the upshot of intervention? for case, analgesic efficacy, procedural awareness, drug side effects
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Time (T) – Fourth dimension interval for measuring the effect: Hourly for first 4 h then 4 hourly till 24 h postal service-process.
Multiple questions tin exist formulated from patient'southward problem and business organization. A well-focused question should be chosen for inquiry according to significance for patient involvement and relevance to our knowledge. Proficient research questions accost the lacunae in bachelor literature with an aim to impact the clinical practice in a constructive manner. In that location are limited outcome inquiry and relevant resources, for instance, electronic database system, database and infirmary information system in India. Even when these factors are available, information about existing resource is non widely attainable.[9]
TYPES OF MEDICAL LITERATURE
(Further details in affiliate 'Types of studies and research design' in this outcome).
Primary literature
Primary sources are the authentic publication of an expert'due south new testify, conclusions and proposals (case reports, clinical trials, etc) and are usually published in a peer-reviewed journal. Preliminary reports, congress papers and preprints also plant primary literature.[2]
Secondary literature
Secondary sources are systematic review articles or meta-analyses where material derived from master source literature are infererred and evaluated.[two]
3rd literature
Tertiary literature consists of collections that compile data from main or secondary literature (eg., reference books).[2]
METHODS OF LITERATURE SEARCH
There are diverse methods of literature search that are used alone or in combination [Table 1]. For past few decades, searching the local also as national library for books, journals, etc., was the usual practice and still physical literature exploration is an important component of whatsoever systematic review search process.[x,xi] With the advancement of engineering, the Cyberspace is now the gateway to the maze of vast medical literature.[12] Conducting a literature review involves web-based search engines, i.east., Google, Google Scholar, etc., [Table 2], or using diverse electronic research databases to identify materials that describe the research topic or those homologous to it.[13,14]
Table 1
Methods of literature search
Table ii
Web based methods of literature search
The diverse databases bachelor for literature search include databases for original published articles in the journals [Tabular array 2] and evidence-based databases for integrated information available equally systematic reviews and abstracts [Table 3].[12,14] Most of these are not freely available to the individual user. PubMed (http://world wide web.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/) is the largest available resource since 1996; yet, a big number of sources now provide gratuitous access to literature in the biomedical field.[15] More than 26 million citations from Medline, life science journals and online books are included in PubMed. Links to the total-text material are included in citations from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.[16] The pick of databases depends on the bailiwick of interest and potential coverage by the dissimilar databases. Education Resource Information Heart is a free online digital library of didactics research and information sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.Southward. Department of Didactics, available at http://eric.ed.gov/. No one database can search all the medical literature. At that place is need to search several different databases. At a minimum, PubMed or Medline, Embase and the Cochrane primal trials Registry need to be searched. When searching these databases, emphasis should exist given to meta-assay, systematic reviews randomised controlled trials and landmark studies.
Table 3
Electronic source of Evidence-Based Database
Time allocated to the search needs attention as exploring and selecting data are early steps in the inquiry method and research conducted equally part of academic cess have narrow timeframes.[17] In Indian scenario, limited outcome research and accessibility to data leads to less thorough knowledge of nature of inquiry problem. This results in the conception of the inappropriate research question and increases the time to literature search.
TYPES OF SEARCH
Type of search can be described in different forms according to the subject of interest. Information technology increases the chances of retrieving relevant information from a search.
Translating research question to keywords
This volition provide results based on any of the words specified; hence, they are the cornerstone of an constructive search. Synonyms/alternate terms should exist considered to elicit farther information, i.due east., barbiturates in place of thiopentone. Spellings should too be taken into account, i.e., anesthesia in place of amazement (American and British). Virtually databases utilise controlled word-stock to establish common search terms (or keywords). Some of these alternative keywords tin can exist looked from database thesaurus.[4] Another strategy is combining keywords with Boolean operators. Information technology is important to keep a note of keywords and methods used in exploring the literature as these will need to exist described later in the design of search process.
'Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) is the National Library of Medicine's controlled hierarchical vocabulary that is used for indexing manufactures in PubMed, with more than specific terms organised underneath more full general terms'.[17] This provides a reliable way to retrieve citations that use different terminology for identical ideas, as it indexes articles based on content. Two features of PubMed that tin can increase yield of specific articles are 'Automated term mapping' and 'automatic term explosion'.[4]
For instance, if the search keyword is eye attack, this term will match with MeSH transcription table heading and then explode into diverse subheadings. This helps to construct the search past calculation and selecting MeSH subheadings and families of MeSH past use of hyperlinks.[iv]
Nosotros can ready limits to a clinical trial for retrieving higher level of evidence (i.e., randomised controlled clinical trial). Furthermore, one can browse through the link entitled 'Related Articles'. This PubMed feature searches for similar citations using an intricate algorithm that scans titles, abstracts and MeSH terms.[4]
Phrase search
This volition provide pages with only the words typed in the phrase, in that exact club and with no words in between them.
Boolean operators
AND, OR and Not are the three Boolean operators named after the mathematician George Boole.[18] Combining ii words using 'AND' will fetch manufactures that mention both the words. Using 'OR' volition widen the search and fetch more articles that mention either subject. While using the term 'NOT' to combine words volition fetch manufactures containing the first discussion but not the 2nd, thus narrowing the search.
Filters
Filters can also be used to refine the search, for example, article types, text availability, language, historic period, sex and periodical categories.
Overall, the recommendations for methodology of literature search can exist every bit below (Creswell)[nineteen]
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Place keywords and use them to search articles from library and internet resources every bit described above
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Search several databases to search articles related to your topic
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Use thesaurus to place terms to locate your manufactures
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Find an commodity that is similar to your topic; then look at the terms used to describe it, and use them for your search
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Utilise databases that provide full-text manufactures (free through academic libraries, Internet or for a fee) as much every bit possible and then that you lot can save time searching for your articles
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If you lot are examining a topic for the first time and unaware of the research on information technology, start with broad syntheses of the literature, such as overviews, summaries of the literature on your topic or review articles
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Start with the nigh recent issues of the journals, and look for studies well-nigh your topic and then work backward in fourth dimension. Follow-up on references at the cease of the articles for more than sources to examine
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Refer books on a single topic past a unmarried author or group of authors or books that contain chapters written by unlike authors
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Next look for recent conference papers. Often, conference papers study the latest research developments. Contact authors of pertinent studies. Write or telephone them, request if they know of studies related to your area of interest
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The like shooting fish in a barrel access and ability to capture unabridged articles from the web make information technology bonny. Withal, bank check these articles carefully for actuality and quality and be cautious about whether they represent systematic inquiry.
The whole procedure of literature search[20] is summarised in Figure one.
Process of literature search
SUMMARY
Literature search provides non only an opportunity to learn more near a given topic but provides insight on how the topic was studied past previous analysts. It helps to interpret ideas, detect shortcomings and recognise opportunities. In brusque, systematic and well-organised research may assist in designing a novel inquiry.
Financial back up and sponsorship
Cypher.
Conflicts of interest
In that location are no conflicts of interest.
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Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5037943/
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