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Developing optimal search strategies for retrieving qualitative studies in PsycINFO.
K Ann McKibbon1, Nancy L Wilczynski, R Brian Haynes
1Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Evaluation & the Health Professions
|November 15, 2006
Summary
Developing effective search strategies is crucial for finding qualitative studies in databases like PsycINFO. Empirically derived textword combinations can successfully, though not perfectly, retrieve these important research articles.
Area of Science:
- Information Science
- Psychology Research Methods
Background:
- Retrieving qualitative studies from large databases like PsycINFO presents challenges for researchers and practitioners.
- Effective search strategies are needed to improve the discoverability of qualitative research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of various search strategies in identifying qualitative studies within the PsycINFO database.
- To compare the performance of different search term combinations against hand-searched data.
Main Methods:
- A hand search of 64 journals from 2000 identified 125 qualitative studies using explicit methodological criteria.
- 4,985 potential search terms were tested in PsycINFO (Ovid Technologies).
- Retrieval effectiveness was calculated by comparing search strategy results with the hand search data.
Main Results:
- Single-term and multiple-term search strategies achieved high sensitivities (up to 94.4%) and specificities (up to 98.6%).
- Effective search terms included variations of "interview," "qualitative," "themes," and "experience."
- Formal indexing terms demonstrated poor performance in retrieving qualitative studies.
Conclusions:
- Empirically derived search strategies combining textwords offer an effective method for retrieving qualitative studies from PsycINFO.
- While effective, these search strategies are not perfect and may not retrieve all relevant studies.
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