Display options
Cite
Stansfield C, Brunton G, Rees R. Search wide, dig deep: literature searching for qualitative research. An analysis of the publication formats and information sources used for four systematic reviews in public health. Res Synth Methods. 2013;5(2):142-51doi: 10.1002/jrsm.1100.
Stansfield, C., Brunton, G., & Rees, R. (2014). Search wide, dig deep: literature searching for qualitative research. An analysis of the publication formats and information sources used for four systematic reviews in public health. Research synthesis methods, 5(2), 142-51. https://doi.org/10.1002/jrsm.1100
Stansfield, Claire, et al. "Search wide, dig deep: literature searching for qualitative research. An analysis of the publication formats and information sources used for four systematic reviews in public health." Research synthesis methods vol. 5,2 (2014): 142-51. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/jrsm.1100
Stansfield C, Brunton G, Rees R. Search wide, dig deep: literature searching for qualitative research. An analysis of the publication formats and information sources used for four systematic reviews in public health. Res Synth Methods. 2014 Jun;5(2):142-51. doi: 10.1002/jrsm.1100. Epub 2013 Oct 25. PMID: 26052653.
Copy Download .nbib Format: NLM
Share it on

Res Synth Methods. 2014 Jun;5(2):142-51. doi: 10.1002/jrsm.1100. Epub 2013 Oct 25.

Search wide, dig deep: literature searching for qualitative research. An analysis of the publication formats and information sources used for four systematic reviews in public health.

Research synthesis methods

Claire Stansfield, Ginny Brunton, Rebecca Rees

Affiliations

  1. EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London, London, U.K.

PMID: 26052653 DOI: 10.1002/jrsm.1100

Abstract

BACKGROUND: When literature searching for systematic reviews, it is good practice to search widely across different information sources. Little is known about the contributions of different publication formats (e.g. journal article and book chapter) and sources, especially for studies of people's views.

METHOD: Studies from four reviews spanning three public health areas (active transport, motherhood and obesity) were analysed in terms of publication formats and the information sources they were identified from. They comprised of 229 studies exploring people's perceptions, beliefs and experiences ('views studies') and were largely qualitative.

RESULTS: Although most (61%) research studies were published within journals, nearly a third (29%) were published as research reports and 5% were published in books. The remainder consisted of theses, conference papers and raw datasets. Two-thirds of studies (66%) were located in a total of 19 bibliographic databases, and 15 databases provided studies that were not identified elsewhere. PubMed was a good source for all reviews. Supplementary information sources were important for identifying studies in all publication formats.

CONCLUSIONS: Undertaking sensitive searches across a range of information sources is essential for locating views studies in all publication formats. We discuss some benefits and challenges of utilising different information sources.

Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Keywords: bibliographic databases; information retrieval; information sources; public health; publication format; qualitative research

MeSH terms

Publication Types