NURS 3215 Chapter 7: Finding and Reviewing Research evidence in the Literature – Flashcards

A written summary of the state of evidence on a research problem.

-Integrate research evidence to sum up what is known and not known

-Shape research questions -Suggest methods -Point to conceptual framework -Assistance with interpretation of findings -Conducted before collecting data

-Ground theorists: begin collecting data before examining literature, then relate findings to theories -Phenomenonologists: undertake preliminary literature search at the outset of a study -Ethnographers: familiarize themselves with literature to help share their choice of cultural problem before going into the field

In the introduction, intertwined with the problem statement as part of the argument for the study

-Descriptions of studies written by the researchers who conducted them -Used when preparing a literature review

-Descriptions of studies by someone other than the researcher who conducted them -Used as a place to start for a quick overview

Secondary

Clinical anecdotes, Opinion articles, and Case reports can be used to broaden understanding of a problem, to demonstrate a need for research, or to describe aspects of clinical practice. However they do not address the central question of written reviews: what is the current state of evidence on this research problem, so their use is limited.

To formulate and refine primary and secondary questions

To devise a search strategy (select databases and identify key words), then search for, identify, and retrieve potential primary source materials.

-Document search decisions and actions -Screen sources for relevance and appropriateness and read them -Discard irrelevant or inappropriate references

-Identify new references/new leads and document those search decisions and actions -Abstract and encode the information from the studies

-Critique/evaluate the study -Analyzes and integrate information/ search for themes -Prepare synthesis/critical summary

Citations/bibliography from relevant studies are used to track down earlier research (ancestors) on which the studies are based

Use a pivotal early study in citation indexes to find later studies (descendants) that cite the pivotal study

To constrain a search, for example to a particular language or within a certain time frame

-Restrict/expand search -Combine 2 searches -Save your search

A word or phrase that captures the key concepts in your question

Independent or dependent variables (I or O of PICO), and perhaps the population

The central phenomenon and the population

Indexing systems have specific subject codes (aka subject headings) and a hierarchical organizational structure with subheadings.

A feature that allows you to search for topics using your own keywords rather than the exact subject heading used in the database. The software translates your keywords into the most plausible subject heading, and then retrieves citation records that have been coded with that subject heading.

-Subject search -Textword search -Author search

You search for a specific word in the text fields of the records (in the title and abstract)

A tool (typically * or $) that allows you to search for multiple words with the same root, which is typically inserted after a truncated root.

Searching nurs* would search for nurse, nurses, nursing

Use quotation marks around a phrase to yield citations in which the exact phrase appears in text fields

To combine, expand or restrict a search

-And: instructs the computer to retrieve references in which two or more terms are present (ex diabetes AND obesity) -Or: instructs the computer to retrieve references containing any of 2+ terms separated by or (ex diabetes OR obesity)

-Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature -Covers over 1 million references to hundreds of nursing and allied health journals, books, book chapters, and dissertations from 1982 to the present

-Information for locating references (author, title, journal, year of publication, volume, page numbers) -Abstracts for most entries -Citations

-Developed by the US national library of medicine -Covers 5,000 nursing, biomedical, and health journals and has over 21 million records

-Medical Subject Headings used by PubMed (medline database) -A controlled vocabulary which provides a consistent way to retrieve information that may use different terminology for the same concepts (links your keyword to other possible leads)

The reference must be screened for accessibility (how to get a copy) and relevance (done by reading the abstract), then organized in a manner that permits easy retrieval (ex. alphabetical filing).

-Databases searched -Keywords used -Limits instituted -Studies used to launch a descendancy search

-For simple reviews: make notes about key features and reviewed studies, base review on these notes -For complex reviews, 2 ways: 1) Code characteristics of each study then record codes in a set of matrices 2) Copy and paste each abstract and citation information into a word document, then create a miniprotocol at the bottom of each page for recording important information that you want to record consistently across tudies

Detecting patterns and regularities (as well as inconsistencies) to identify themes (substantive, methodologic, generalizability)

What is the pattern of evidence? What findings predominate? How much evidence is there? How consistent and persuasive is the body of evidence? What gaps are there in the evidence?

What methods have been used to address the question? What strategies have not been used? What are the major methodologic deficiencies and strengths?

To what types of people or settings does the evidence apply? Do the findings vary for different types of people or setting?

-Summarize information in a table with headings such as author, sample characteristics, design, and key findings -Work from an outline

-Objective/unbiased (do not omit a study just because it conflicts with your idea) -Not too many quotations and not too many abstracts -Reveal current state of knowledge on a topic, not describe research that has been done -Use your own words -Use appropriate langues

-Several studies have found -Findings thus far suggest -The results are consistent with the conclusion that -Results from a landmark study imply that -There appears to be fairly strong evidence that

-Does the review seem thorough and up to date? Does it include major studies on the topic? Does it include recent research? -Does the review rely on appropriate materials (research reports/primary sources)? -Is the review merely a summary of existing work, or does it critically appraise and compare key studies? Does the review identify important gaps in the literature? -Is the review well organized? Is the development of ideas clear? -Does the review use appropriate language, suggesting the tentativeness of prior findings? Is the review objective? Does the author paraphrase, or is there an overreliance on quotes from the original sources? -If the review is in the introduction for a new study, does the review support the need for the study? -If it is a review designed to summarize evidence for clinical practice, does the review draw appropriate conclusions about practice implications?