Evaluating the relationship between citation set size, team size and screening methods used in systematic reviews: a cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Standard practice for conducting systematic reviews (SRs) is time consuming and involves the study team screening hundreds or thousands of citations. As the volume of medical literature grows, the citation set sizes and corresponding screening efforts increase. While larger team size and alternate screening methods have the potential to reduce workload and decrease SR completion times, it is unknown whether investigators adapt team size or methods in response to citation set sizes. Using a cross-sectional design, we sought to understand how citation set size impacts (1) the total number of authors or individuals contributing to screening and (2) screening methods.

Methods

MEDLINE was searched in April 2019 for SRs on any health topic. A total of 1880 unique public

SUBMITTER: O'Hearn K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8264476 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature