Finding Related Research and Identifying a Research Gap: Try “Connected Papers”

Short Summary Many researchers search PubMed to find articles on a topic, but few know how to visually map related research and identify gaps. In this post, I explore a real example using my paper on searching PubMed in radiology — and demonstrate how a tool like Connected Papers can help researchers refine or choose a research topic by finding related research or identifying research gaps or both! Why This Topic Matters When we publish, we often wonder: Who else has written something similar? Has the topic evolved? Is there a gap I can explore further?Traditional searching gives us a…
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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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Why full search strategies matter — lessons from a recent Letter to the Editor

Why full search strategies matter — lessons from a recent Letter to the Editor

A recent letter to the editor published in Revista Española de Enfermedades Digestivas draws attention to an important omission in a systematic review: the lack of a full search strategy. González Aroca J . Literature searches report in systematic reviews. Rev Esp Enferm Dig. 2025;117:618-619.doi: 10.17235/reed.2024.10848/2024. PMID: 39446109. The letter praises the authors for their overall work, but underscores that without the exact search strings, databases, dates, and filters used in the review, the study cannot be properly reproduced or updated in the future. The systematic review in question is: Tian Z et al. Immunogenicity and risk factors for poor humoral…
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