|
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
|
Systematically Retrieving Research: A Case Study Evaluating Seven Databases
Brian Taylor
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Emma Wylie
Causeway Health and Social Services Trust, Ballymoney, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Martin Dempster
Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Michael Donnelly
Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Objective: Developing the scientific underpinnings of social welfare requires effective and efficient methods of retrieving relevant items from the increasing volume of research. Method: We compared seven databases by running the nearest equivalent search on each. The search topic was chosen for relevance to social work practice with older people. Results: Highest sensitivity was achieved by Medline (52%), Social Sciences Citation Index (46%) and Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) (30%). Highest precision was achieved by AgeInfo (76%), PsycInfo (51%) and Social Services Abstracts (41%). Each database retrieved unique relevant articles. Conclusions: Comprehensive searching requires the development of information management skills. The social work profession would benefit from having a dedicated international database with the capability and facilities of major databases such as Medline, CINAHL, and PsycInfo.
Key Words: databases • bibliographic • evidence-based practice • information storage and retrieval
References
- Adams, C.E., Power, A., Frederick, K., & Lefebvre, C. (1994). An investigation of the adequacy of MEDLINE searches for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of the effects of mental health care. Psychological Medicine, 24, 741-748.[Web of Science][Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
- Avenell, A., Handoll, H.H.G., & Grant, A.M. (2001). Lessons for search strategies from a systematic review, in The Cochrane Library of nutritional supplementation trials in patients after hip fracture. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 7, 505-510.
- Booth, A., O'Rourke, A., & Ford, N. (2000). Structuring the pre-search reference interview: A useful technique for handling clinical questions. Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, 88, 239-246.[Web of Science][Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
- Brettle, A.J. (2001). Comparison of bibliographic databases for information on the rehabilitation of people with severe mental illness. Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, 89, 353-362.[Web of Science][Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
- Chalmers, I. (1994). Foreword. In I. Chalmers & D. G. Altman (Eds.), Systematic Reviews. London: BMJ Publishing Group.
- Clarke, M., & Chalmers, I. (1998). Discussion sections in reports of controlled trials published in general medical journals: Islands in search of continents? Journal of the American Medical Association, 280, 280-282.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
- Cook, D.J., Mulrow, C.D., & Haynes, R.B. (1997). Systematic reviews: Synthesis of best evidence for clinical decisions. Annals of Internal Medicine, 126, 376-380.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
- Counsell, C. (1997). Formulating questions and locating primary studies for inclusion in systematic reviews. Annals of Internal Medicine, 127, 380-387.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
- Dempster, M. (2003). Systematic reviews. In R. Miller & J. Brewer (Eds.), The A to Z of Social Research. London: Sage.
- Dickersin, K., Scherer, R., & Lefebvre, C. (1994). Identifying relevant studies for systematic reviews. British Medical Journal, 309, 1286-1291.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
- Egger, M., Juni, P., Bartlett, C., Holenstein, F., & Sterne, J. (2003). How important are comprehensive literature searches and the assessment of trial quality in systematic reviews? Empirical study. Health Technology Assessment, 7(1), 1-76.[Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
- Fisher, M., Qureshi, H., Hardyman, W., & Homewood, J. (2006). How knowledge works in social care report 9: Using qualitative research in systematic reviews: Older people's views of hospital discharge. London: Social Care Institute for Excellence.
- Gambrill, E. (2006). Evidence-based practice and policy: Choices ahead. Research on Social Work Practice, 16, 338-357.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
- Glass, G.V. (1976). Primary, secondary, and meta-analysis of research. Educational Researcher, 5, 3-8.[Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
- Glass, G.V., McGaw, B., & Smith, M. (1981). Meta-Analysis in Social Research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
- Greenhalgh, T., & Peacock, R. (2005, November 5). Effectiveness and efficiency of search methods in systematic reviews of complex evidence: Audit of primary sources. British Medical Journal, 331(7524), 1064-1065.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
- Hay, P.J., Adams, C.E., & Lefebvre, C. (1996). The efficiency of searches for randomized controlled trials in the International Journal of Eating Disorders: A comparison of handsearching, EMBASE and PsychLIT. Health Libraries Review, 13, 91-96.[CrossRef]
- Haynes, B.R., McKibbon, A.K., Wilczynski, N.L., Walter, S.D., & Were, S.R. (2005). Optimal search strategies for retrieving scientifically strong studies of treatment from Medline: Analytical survey. British Medical Journal, 330, 1179.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
- Higgins, K., & Pinkerton, J. (1998). Literature reviewing: Towards a more rigorous approach. In D. Iwaniek & J. Pinkerton (Eds.), Making research work: Promoting child care policy and practice. Chichester, UK: Wiley.
- Hopewell, S., Clarke, M., Lusher, A., Lefebvre, C. & Westby, M. (2002). A comparison of handsearching versus Medline searching to identify reports of randomized controlled trials. Statistical Medicine, 21, 1625-1634.[CrossRef]
- Hunt, M. (1997). The story of meta-analysis. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
- Light, R.J., & Smith, P.V. (1971). Accumulating evidence: Procedures for resolving contradictions among different research studies. Harvard Educational Review, 41, 429-471.[Web of Science]
- Macdonald, G. (2001). Effective interventions for child abuse and neglect: An evidence-based approach to planning and evaluating interventions. Chichester, UK: Wiley.
- Matthews, E.J., Edwards, A.G.K., Barker, J., Bloor, M., Covey, J., Hood, K., et al. (1999). Efficient literature searching in diffuse topics: Lessons from a systematic review of research on communicating risk to patients in primary care. Health Libraries Review, 16, 112-1120.[CrossRef][Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
- Meade, M.O., & Richardson, W.S. (1997). Selecting and appraising studies for a systematic review. Annals of Internal Medicine, 127, 531-537.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
- Petrosino, A., Boruch, R.F., Rounding, C., McDonald, S. & Chalmers, I. (2000). The Campbell Collaboration: Social, Psychological, Educational, and Criminological Trials Registry (C2-SPECTR) to facilitate the preparation and maintenance of systematic reviews of social and educational interventions. Evaluation and Research in Education, 14(3&4), 206-219.[CrossRef]
- Pollio, D.E. (2006). The art of evidence-based practice. Research on Social Work Practice, 16(2), 224-232.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
- Popay, J., & Roen, K. (2003). Using evidence from diverse research designs: SCIE Report 3, London: Social Care Institute for Excellence.
- Reid, W.J. (1997). Long-term trends in clinical social work. Social Service Review, 71, 200-213.[Web of Science]
- Sandelowski, M., Docherty, S. & Emden, C. (1997). Qualitative metasynthesis: Issues and techniques. Research in Nursing & Health, 20, 365-371.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
- Schuerman, J., Soydan, H., Macdonald, G., Forslund, M., deMoya, D., Boruch, R. (2002). The Campbell Collaboration. Research on Social Work Practice, 12, 309-317.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
- Smith, M.L. (1980). Publication bias and meta-analysis. Evaluation in Education, 4, 22-24.[CrossRef]
- Snowball, R. (1997). Using the clinical question to teach search strategy: Fostering transferable conceptual skills in user education by active learning. Health Library Review, 14(3), 167-172.[CrossRef]
- Stevenson, O. (1971). Knowledge for social work. British Journal of Social Work, 1, 225-237.[Free Full Text]
- Stevinson, C., & Lawlor, D.A. (2004). Searching multiple databases for systematic reviews: Added values or diminishing returns? Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 12, 228-232.
- Taylor, B.J. (2003). Literature searching. In R. Miller & J. Brewer (Eds.), The A to Z of social research. London: Sage.
- Taylor, B.J., Dempster, M., & Donnelly, M. (2003). Hidden gems: Systematically searching electronic databases for research publications for social work and social care. British Journal of Social Work, 33, 423-439.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
- Taylor, B.J., Dempster, M., & Donnelly, M. (2007). Grading gems: Appraising the quality of research for social work and social care. British Journal of Social Work, 37(2), 335-354.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
- Taylor, B.J., Wylie, E., Dempster, M., & Donnelly, M. (2006). An Evaluation of the AgeInfo Database. London: Social Care Institute for Excellence. Available online at http://www.scie.org.uk/
- White, V.J., Glanville, J.M., Lefebvre, C., & Sheldon, T.A. (2001). A statistical approach to designing search filters to find systematic reviews: Objectivity enhances accuracy. Journal of Information Science, 27, 357-370.[Abstract]
This version was published on November
1, 2007
Research on Social Work Practice, Vol. 17, No. 6,
697-706 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1049731507304402
 CiteULike  Complore  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Technorati  Twitter What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
|
|
 
G. Holden, K. Barker, L. Covert-Vail, G. Rosenberg, and S. A. Cohen
Social Work Abstracts Fails Again: A Replication and Extension
Research on Social Work Practice,
November 1, 2009;
19(6):
715 - 721.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. J. Taylor
Invited Commentary on Papers by Holden et al. and Shek on the Quality of Social Work Abstracts
Research on Social Work Practice,
May 1, 2009;
19(3):
366 - 369.
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. Holden, K. Barker, L. Covert-Vail, G. Rosenberg, and S. A. Cohen
Does Social Work Abstracts Work?
Research on Social Work Practice,
September 1, 2008;
18(5):
487 - 499.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
