Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2026
12:59
Barnes Maze Testing Strategies with Small and Large Rodent Models
Published on: February 26, 2014
Routine development of objectively derived search strategies
Elke Hausner1, Siw Waffenschmidt, Thomas Kaiser
1Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, Dillenburger Strasse 27, D-51105 Cologne, Germany. elke.hausner@iqwig.de
Systematic Reviews
|May 17, 2012
Summary
An empirically guided approach enhances the transparency and efficiency of developing reliable search strategies for systematic reviews. This method ensures all relevant literature is identified, improving research quality and reproducibility.
Area of Science:
- Health Sciences
- Information Science
- Medical Research
Background:
- Information retrieval is increasingly professionalized within systematic reviews.
- Information specialists are integral to research teams.
- Developing transparent and efficient search strategies remains a challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the empirically guided search strategy development process at the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG).
- To outline key steps: test set generation, strategy development, validation, and documentation.
Main Methods:
- An example search for brachytherapy in prostate cancer literature was used.
- A test set of 38 references from systematic reviews was generated.
- Textual analytic procedures were applied to develop and validate the search strategy.
Main Results:
- A search strategy was developed that successfully identified all 25 references in the development set.
- The strategy also completely identified the 13 independent references in the validation set.
- This demonstrates the effectiveness of the empirically guided approach.
Conclusions:
- An objective, empirically guided approach is feasible for developing and validating reliable search strategies.
- This method increases the transparency of search strategy development.
- Widespread application can enhance the quality and reproducibility of systematic reviews.
Related Concept Videos
01:12Trial and Error and Algorithm
A problem-solving strategy is a plan of action used to find a solution. Different strategies have distinct action plans. Trial and error involves trying different solutions until one works. For instance, to fix a broken printer, you might check ink levels, ensure the paper tray isn't jammed, and verify the printer's connection to your laptop. This method can be time-consuming but is commonly used. Thomas Edison, for example, used trial and error to find a suitable filament for the light bulb,...
01:29Problem-Solving
Effective problem-solving consists of two steps: 1. identifying the problem and 2. selecting the appropriate problem-solving strategy (i.e., a plan of action used to find a solution). Humans use four problem-solving strategies:
01:28Structure-Activity Relationships and Drug Design
Drug design is a dynamic field that involves discovering and developing new medications based on specific biological targets. This process heavily relies on structure-activity relationships (SAR) and quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) to guide the design and optimization of efficient drugs.
SAR studies the intricate relationship between a drug's chemical structure and biological activity. It focuses on understanding how modifications to a drug's structure can influence its...
SAR studies the intricate relationship between a drug's chemical structure and biological activity. It focuses on understanding how modifications to a drug's structure can influence its...
01:07Elaborative Rehearsals
Elaborative rehearsal is a crucial cognitive strategy that strengthens information encoding in long-term memory by making meaningful connections between new data and pre-existing knowledge. This approach contrasts with maintenance rehearsal, which involves simple repetition without delving into the significance of the information. While maintenance rehearsal might temporarily keep information active in short-term memory, it is less effective for long-term retention.
The effectiveness of...
The effectiveness of...
01:26Drug Discovery: Overview
Drug discovery is a multifaceted process involving extensive screening, testing, and optimization of lead compounds to identify potential new drugs for therapeutic use. It combines several approaches, including screening large numbers of natural products, chemical modification of known active molecules, identification of new drug targets, and rational design based on biological mechanisms and drug-receptor structure. These approaches are carried out in both academic research laboratories and...
01:21Heuristics
Heuristics are problem-solving strategies that use mental shortcuts to simplify decision-making. Unlike algorithms, which must be followed precisely to achieve a correct result, heuristics offer a general problem-solving framework. They save time and energy but can sometimes lead to less rational decisions.
People often rely on heuristics when faced with an overload of information, limited time, low importance of the decision, limited information, or when a heuristic readily comes to mind. For...
People often rely on heuristics when faced with an overload of information, limited time, low importance of the decision, limited information, or when a heuristic readily comes to mind. For...