Finding qualitative research: an evaluation of search strategies.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Qualitative research makes an important contribution to our understanding of health and healthcare. However, qualitative evidence can be difficult to search for and identify, and the effectiveness of different types of search strategies is unknown.

Methods

Three search strategies for qualitative research in the example area of support for breast-feeding were evaluated using six electronic bibliographic databases. The strategies were based on using thesaurus terms, free-text terms and broad-based terms. These strategies were combined with recognised search terms for support for breast-feeding previously used in a Cochrane review. For each strategy, we evaluated the recall (potentially relevant records found) and precision (actually relevant records found).

Resul

SUBMITTER: Shaw RL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC385230 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature