Why Systematic Review Searches Need Proper Budgets

Why Systematic Review Searches Need Proper Budgets

We often are asked: “Can you help us with our systematic review search strategy?”Sometimes it is “Could you please guide us?” and at other times it is “Could you do the whole search for us?” At QMed, we are happy that people recognize the importance of a proper search strategy—but the bigger concern is this: many still assume that carrying out a search strategy is quick, intuitive and best of all a free or nearly free activity The Foundation of a Systematic Review Isn’t the Software — It’s the Search On our eLearning platform, we offer a complete course titled…
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Ten Years Later: Why Indian Systematic Reviews Still Miss the Mark

Ten Years Later: Why Indian Systematic Reviews Still Miss the Mark

Ten years have passed, but the quality of search strategies in Indian systematic reviews tells the same story — one of missed opportunities for true rigor.... Looking Back: The 2015 WAME Poster In 2015, I participated in a conference organized by the World Association of Medical Editors, in New Delhi, India. I had presented a poster titled “Systematic reviews in Indian publications. How many are really systematic reviews?” At that time, my co-authors and I analyzed about 147 results retrieved from PubMed — articles with the words “Systematic review” in the title, appearing in Indian journals only. With not very…
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What Happens to PubMed When a Shutdown Looms?

What Happens to PubMed When a Shutdown Looms?

An easy-to-read summary of Hilda Bastian’s post on PubMed and the US Government Shutdown Every now and then, something happens in the world of health information that makes all of us — librarians, researchers, teachers — sit up straight. Recently, a message on PubMed’s home page did just that. It mentioned the possibility of disruption due to a US government shutdown. And for anyone who depends on PubMed daily, that’s a scary thought! Hilda Bastian, who often writes excellent, evidence-informed posts about science communication, explored this in her blog — “Tracking Shutdown Impact and Changes at PubMed”. I read it…
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