HOW TO CREATE INSIGHT WITH SEARCH RESULTS From Literature Searching to Literature Analysis
Feb 12, 2016
HOW TO CREATE INSIGHT WITH SEARCH RESULTS
From Literature Searching to Literature Analysis
Session Goals
1. Go beyond the results of your literature search
2. Use an analytical technique to segment and give meaning to a batch of search results
3. Use visualization strategies to turn textual results into pictures
Today we will learn…
Subject Analysis Chronological Review Subject Mapping Literature Review
(Author) Content Analysis
What is Literature Analysis?
Simple definition: Doing something to make sense of search results.
Deeper definition:Looking into search results for themes, patterns, and trends which answer specific questions about the resulting data set.
Subject Analysis
Most literature searches are built on subject or keyword searches
It makes sense that analyzing literature results also focus on subject searches
Chronological Review
Answers the questions:When did this research begin?How much material was written in each year
(or another time period)?
Chronological Review
Method of Analysis:• Count the number of articles written for each
year (or month)• Graph using a line or bar graph to visualize
the trend in number of articles from past to present
Chronological Review Example
2014 202013 8202012 10132011 10142010 11062009 10622008 10452007 9992006 10242005 9912004 8342003 7242002 7032001 6852000 5861999 5341998 445
pubmed – (headache disorders[MeSH Major Topic]) AND ("1960“[Date - Publication] : "3000"[Date - Publication])
Chronological Review Example
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 550
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Series1
Subject Mapping
Answers the questions:How does this subject (these subjects) relate
to shoulder fields?Are the correct search terms being used?
Subject Mapping
Method of Analysis:Draw a schematic of your search terms using
the thesaurus or controlled vocabulary of your database. Try to map terms both broader and narrower than your search term.
Have you considered any of these related terms in your search strategy as alternative language? Does this map suggest broader or narrower terms that should be used in the search instead?
Subject Mapping Example
Headache Disorders
Headache Disorders, Primary
Tension Type Headaches
Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalgias
Migraine Disorders
Common Migraine (Without
Aura)
Classic Migraine (Without
Aura)
Headache Disorders, Secondary
Posdural Puncture
Headaches
Post Traumatic Headaches
Vascular Headaches
Literature Review
Answers the questions:Who are the major contributors to this
subject field?What is their contribution or the point made
in their writing?
Literature Review
Method of Analysis:Sort through search results, ranking by
number of articles written by each author.For each author, summarize the topic of their
research or their contribution to the subject field.
A literature review may also review all authors in the field if you want to be comprehensive rather than selecting only the most prolific authors.
Literature Review Example
pubmed – (migraine disorders[MeSH Major Topic]) AND (“2013“[Date - Publication] : “2014"[Date - Publication]) Allais, G (4) – study of treatment for menstrual migraine,
preliminary trial on ginkolide B, migraine and pregnancy internet study, comparison of treatment with triptans on menstrual migraine
Silberstein, SD (8) – gastroinstinal symptoms, use of botulinum toxin A as migraine treatment, full-spectrum treatment and endpoint goals, review article on dihydroergotimene, study of CGRP gene in cause of migraine, clinical trial of gabapentin
Tepper, DE (4) – use of nasal sprays to treat migraine, use of NSAIDS to treat migraine, treatment of chronic migraine, investigation of migraine and obesity
Author Content Analysis
Summary of themes used by a single authorComprehensive analysis of the author’s work
over their career, not limited by time period or subject area
May be used in conjunction with Literature Review after key authors are identified for “deeper dive”
Author Content Analysis
Method of Analysis:Scan search results and begin grouping them
into broad categoriesCount (use tick marks) results that fall into
each categoryMay be used in conjunction with Literature
Review method textual summary analysis for further insight into each broad category
Author Content Analysis Example
pubmed – (migraine) AND (“Silberstein“[Author]) Medications (75%) Genetics (5%) Side effects (3%) Co-morbidities (7%) Surgical treatments (7%) Chronic migraine (3%)
Author Content Analysis Example
medication
genetics
side effects
co-morbidities
surgical treatments
chronic migraine
Today we learned…
Subject Analysis Chronological Review – best to understand WHEN the
majority of the research was written Subject Mapping – best to understand WHAT TERMS
should be included in your final search strategy Literature Review – best to understand WHO the
major contributors to the field are and WHAT their contributions are
(Author) Content Analysis – best to focus on a single author and analyze the THEMES of their writing over a long period of time
Questions
DEBORAHLOVESCATS@GMAIL .COM
Deborah Keller