Applicability Questions of applicability ask whether the intervention being tested has made a measurable difference for the chosen population and in the particular setting. Often, this difference is expressed statistically. One of three important considerations in critical appraisal of research literature.
B
Bibliometric research "utilizes quantitative analysis and statistics to describe patterns of publication within a given field or body of literature. Researchers may use bibliometric methods of evaluation to determine the influence of a single writer, for example, or to describe the relationship between two or more writers or works. One common way of conducting bibliometric research is to use the Social Science Citation Index, the Science Citation Index or the Arts and Humanities Citation Index to trace citations.*" Citation analysis and content analysis are different types of bibliometric research.*Quoted from http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~palmquis/courses/biblio.html which also has a nice discussion of citation and content analysis.
Case control study: An observational study in which the cases have the issue of interest (e.g. successful literature searching) in common, but the controls do not. Booth A & Brice A. (2004). Evidence-based practice for information professionals: a handbook. London, England: Facet Publications.
Case report or case study: A description of a particular service or event, often focusing on unusual aspects of the reported situation or adverse occurrences. Booth A & Brice A. (2004). Evidence-based practice for information professionals: a handbook. London, England: Facet Publications..
Case series: A description of more than one case Booth A & Brice A. (2004). Evidence-based practice for information professionals: a handbook. London, England: Facet Publications.
Case study refers to the collection and presentation of detailed information about a particular participant or small group, frequently including the accounts of subjects themselves. A form of qualitative descriptive research, the case study looks intensely at an individual or small participant pool, drawing conclusions only about that participant or group and only in that specific context. Researchers do not focus on the discovery of a universal, generalizable truth, nor do they typically look for cause-effect relationships; instead, emphasis is placed on exploration and description.
Colorado State University, Case Study: Introduction and Definition. Retrieved 10/1/2008 from http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/research/casestudy/pop2a.cfm
Citation analysis uses citations in scholarly works to establish links. Many different links can be ascertained, such as links between authors, between scholarly works, between journals, between fields, or even between countries. Citations both from and to a certain document may be studied. One very common use of citation analysis is to determine the impact of a single author on a given field by counting the number of times the author has been cited by others. One possible drawback of this approach is that authors may be citing the single author in a negative context (saying that the author doesn't know what s/he's talking about, for instance) (Osareh 1996). This entire paragraph is quoted from http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~palmquis/courses/biblio.html
Cochrane Collaborative: "An international non-profit and independent organisation [that] produces and disseminates systematic reviews of healthcare interventions and promotes the search for evidence in the form of clinical trials and other studies of interventions. The Cochrane Collaboration was founded in 1993 and named for the British epidemiologist, Archie Cochrane.The major product of the Collaboration is the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews which is published quarterly as part of The Cochrane Library" (from the Cochrane site).
The cohort study design involves a defined population, an exposure to some phenomenon suspected of causing a change in the population, and observed outcomes. Eldredge JD (2002, Fall). Evidence-Based Librarianship Levels of Evidence, Hypothesis, 10.
Comparative study: Comparison of two or more qualitative studies. (paraphrased from Booth A & Brice A. (2004). Evidence-based practice
for information professionals: a handbook. London, England: Facet
Publications.).
Comparison: An alternative service or action that may or may not achieve similar outcomes Booth A & Brice A. (2004). Evidence-based practice
for information professionals: a handbook. London, England: Facet
Publications. One of four parts to the PICO 'well-built' question.
Content analysis is a "research tool used to determine the presence of certain words or concepts within texts or sets of texts. Researchers quantify and analyze the presence, meanings and relationships of such words and concepts, then make inferences about the messages within the texts, the writer(s), the audience, and even the culture and time of which these are a part. Texts can be defined broadly as books, book chapters, essays, interviews, discussions, newspaper headlines and articles, historical documents, speeches, conversations, advertising, theater, informal conversation, or really any occurrence of communicative language." Quoted from http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/research/content/pop2a.cfm which looks to be an excellent overview (and more) of this methodology.
D
Descriptive survey: Aimed at describing certain attributes of a population, specifying associations between variables, or searching out hypotheses to be tested, but which are not primarily intended for establishing cause-and-effect relationships or actually testing hypotheses. Booth A & Brice A. (2004). Evidence-based practice
for information professionals: a handbook. London, England: Facet
Publications.
Domains: See Library domains
E
Epidemiology: "Field of medicine concerned with the study of epidemics, outbreaks of disease that affect large numbers of people. Using sophisticated statistical analyses, field investigations, and complex laboratory techniques, epidemiologists investigate the cause of a disease, its distribution (geographic, ecological, and ethnic), method of spread, and measures for control and prevention. Epidemiological investigations once concentrated on such communicable diseases as tuberculosis, influenza, and cholera, but now also encompass cancer, heart disease, and other diseases affecting large numbers of people." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press.
Evidence-based Health Care (EBHC) extends the application of the principles of evidence-based medicine (see below) to all professions associated with health care, including purchasing and management. Booth A & Brice A. (2004). Evidence-based practice
for information professionals: a handbook. London, England: Facet
Publications.
Evidence-based Librarianship (EBL) is a means to improve the profession of librarianship by asking questions as well as finding, critically appraising, and incorporating research evidence from library science (and other disciplines) into daily practice. It also involves encouraging librarians to conduct high quality qualitative and quantitative research. Eldredge, J. D. (2002). Evidence-based librarianship: What might we expect in the years ahead? Health Information and Libraries Journal, 19(2), 71-77.
Evidence-based medicine (EBM): "The conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. The practice of evidence-based medicine requires the integration of individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research and our patient’s unique values and circumstances." Booth A & Brice A. (2004). Evidence-based practice
for information professionals: a handbook. London, England: Facet
Publications.
Expert opinion [is that which is] offered without rendering any supportive evidence. Booth A & Brice A. (2004). Evidence-based practice
for information professionals: a handbook. London, England: Facet
Publications.
Exploration questions are generally open-ended, often beginning with 'why'. They're particularly suited to qualitative research.
H
Hedges or filters: A series of search statements intended to gather subject headings and keywords that describe a particular concept (such as the research methods used) into a set. As a research tool, hedges can be saved and re-used. Depending upon how they're built, their purpose is to enhance the specificity or the comprehensiveness of search retrieval.
I
Intervention The service or planned action to be delivered to the population (Booth, p. 63 in Booth A & Brice A. (2004)). Evidence-based practice
for information professionals: a handbook. London, England: Facet
Publications.). One of four parts to the PICO 'well-built' question.
Intervention questions compare different actions with respect to achievement of an intended goal (or outcome) Crumley E & Koufogiannakis D. (2002). Developing
evidence based librarianship: practical steps for implementation.
Health Information and Libraries Journal, 19(2):61-70.
L
Library domains Proposed taxonomy of 6 broad and inclusive areas of library science: Reference/inquiry, Collections, Information access and retrieval, Education, Management, and Marketing/promotion. Crumley E & Koufogiannakis D. (2002). Developing
evidence based librarianship: practical steps for implementation.
Health Information and Libraries Journal, 19(2):61-70.
M
Meta-analysis: A method of synthesizing the data from more than one study, in order to produce a summary statistic. Booth A & Brice A. (2004). Evidence-based practice
for information professionals: a handbook. London, England: Facet
Publications.
O
Outcome: The ways in which the service or action can be measured to establish whether it has had a desired effect. Booth A & Brice A. (2004). Evidence-based practice
for information professionals: a handbook. London, England: Facet
Publications. One of four parts to the PICO 'well-built' question.
P
PICO: An acronym for Population or Problem, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome. Intended to help construct a 'well-built' question.
Population Recipients or potential beneficiaries of a service or intervention (Booth, p. 63 in Booth & Brice, 2004). One of four parts to the PICO 'well-built' question.
Prospective cohort study: A research study that follows over time groups of individuals who are alike in many ways but differ by a certain characteristic (for example, female nurses who smoke and those who do not smoke) and compares them for a particular outcome (such as lung cancer). National Cancer Institute, National Cancer Institute, Dictionary of Cancer Terms. http://www.cancer.gov/templates/db_alpha.aspx?CdrID=286693
Q
Qualitative research or Qualitative study: A broad term describing research methodologies which generally do not depend upon statistical analysis, and which may use any of a number of different methods of inquiry, including ethnographies, interviews, historical narratives, discourse analyses, or observational descriptions.
R
Randomized control clinical trial (RCT) In RCTs, participants are randomly allocated into an experimental group or a control group and followed over time for the variables/outcomes of interest. Booth A & Brice A. (2004). Evidence-based practice
for information professionals: a handbook. London, England: Facet
Publications.
Reliability concerns the 'trustworthiness' of a study's results - in other words, whether the study would obtain the same (or similar) results if the same conditions were replicated (reproducibility). One of three important considerations in critical appraisal of research literature.
Retrospective cohort study: A research study in which the medical records of groups of individuals who are alike in many ways but differ by a certain characteristic (for example, female nurses who smoke and those who do not smoke) are compared for a particular outcome (such as lung cancer). Also called an historic cohort study. National Cancer Institute, Dictionary of Cancer Terms. http://www.cancer.gov/Templates/db_alpha.aspx?CdrID=286525
S
SPICE A mnemonic for Setting, Perspective, Intervention, Comparison, and Evaluation. Like PICO, this serves as a model for building the ‘well-built question.’
Spiral approach to searching: This method of searching for literature is iterative, following the procedures below:
A. Using initial broad inclusion criteria (scoping):
1. Search a range of databases whose content may relate to aspects of your topic
2. Search printed indices
3. Undertake relevance checks on abstracts retrievedB. Refine inclusion and exclusion criteria (refinement):
4. Rerun searches
5. Continue relevance checks on full reports of studies
6. Citation track from identified studies: check for occurrences of study in citation indexesC. Continue refinement as necessary, finalizing inclusion and exclusion criteria (confirmation):
7. Hand search selected journals
8. Continue citation tracking from identified studies
9. Extend to identify grey literature.
Adapted from Long et al, 2002 c:10, included in National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence: Methodological issues in the synthesis of diverse sources of evidence. Available through www.publichealth.nice.org.uk
Summing up Synthesis of data gathered from exploratory studies, a method of systematic review. Cited in Booth A & Brice A. (2004). Evidence-based practice
for information professionals: a handbook. London, England: Facet
Publications, in reference to the book, Summing Up (Light and Pellemer, 1984).
Systematic review: Tries to answer a clear question by finding and describing all published, and if possible, unpublished work, on a topic. [It] uses explicit methods to perform a thorough literature search and critical appraisal of individual studies and uses appropriate statistical techniques to combine these valid studies. Booth A & Brice A. (2004). Evidence-based practice
for information professionals: a handbook. London, England: Facet
Publications.
Advantages of systematic reviews
Explicit methods limit bias in identifying and rejecting studies. Conclusions are hence more reliable and accurate
Large amounts of information can be assimilated quickly by health care providers, researchers, and policymakers
Delay between research discoveries and implementation of effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies is potentially reduced
Results of different studies can be formally compared to establish generalizability of findings and consistency (lack of heterogeneity) of results
Reasons for heterogeneity (inconsistency in results across studies) can be identified and new hypotheses generated about particular subgroups
Quantitative systematic reviews (meta-nalyses) increase the precision of the overall result.
Quoted in full from Greenhalgh, T. How to read a paper: The basics of evidence-based medicine. London, UK: BMJ Publishing Group, pp.113.
Systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials:Top level of the evidence pyramid proposed for EBLIP.
V
Validity: Freedom from bias, one of three important considerations in critical appraisal of research literature.
W
Well-built question Also called the 'clinical question', this is a query that's been carefully constructed to focus on the four crucial elements of PICO.