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Published versus unpublished dissertations in psycho-oncology intervention research
Anne Moyer1, Stefan Schneider, Sarah K Knapp-Oliver
1Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-2500, USA. anne.moyer@sunysb.edu
Psycho-Oncology
|April 9, 2009
Summary
Doctoral dissertations, including unpublished ones, are valuable for systematic reviews. Their quality is comparable to published studies, making them essential for comprehensive research on psychosocial interventions for cancer patients.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Psychosocial Interventions
- Research Methodology
Background:
- Gray literature inclusion in systematic reviews is debated.
- Publication status is often a proxy for study quality.
- Doctoral dissertations may offer superior quality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the quality of published and unpublished doctoral dissertations.
- To assess the suitability of dissertations for systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
- Focus on psychosocial interventions for cancer patients.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 107 doctoral dissertations (42 published, 65 unpublished).
- Studies focused on psychosocial interventions for cancer patients.
- Evaluation of methodological quality across several indices.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in methodological quality between published and unpublished dissertations.
- Published dissertations were more likely to have research funding.
- Dissertations with significant findings were more likely to be published.
Conclusions:
- Unpublished dissertations on psychosocial interventions for cancer patients are of comparable quality to published ones.
- Doctoral dissertations are accessible, less biased, and thoroughly reported.
- Dissertations warrant inclusion in comprehensive literature reviews.
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