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Comparing Bibliometric Analysis Using PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science Databases
Published on: October 24, 2019
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Systematic reviews on the same topic are common but often fail to meet key methodological standards: a
Wilfred Kwok1, Titiane Dallant1, Guillaume Martin1
1Sorbonne Université, INSERM, Institut Pierre Louis d'Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique, AP-HP, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Département de Santé Publique, Centre de Pharmacoépidémiologie de l'AP-HP (Cephepi), Paris, France.
Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
|October 19, 2025
Summary
A third of systematic reviews (SRs) in 2022 had overlapping topics with other SRs, and most lacked key methodological standards. Discrepant results were found in one-fifth of overlapping SRs, impacting evidence synthesis.
Area of Science:
- Medical research methodology
- Evidence-based medicine
- Scientific publishing standards
Background:
- Systematic reviews (SRs) are crucial for synthesizing research evidence.
- Overlapping SRs and methodological variations can impact the reliability of synthesized findings.
- Assessing the quality and overlap of SRs is essential for evidence-based practice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the frequency of overlapping SRs and their outcomes.
- To evaluate whether SRs meet essential methodological criteria.
- To identify discrepancies in results among overlapping SRs.
Main Methods:
- A random sample of SRs with meta-analysis (MA) published in 2022 was analyzed.
- The study identified overlapping SRs with MA published between 2018 and 2023.
- Key methodological characteristics, including protocol registration and quality assessment tools, were evaluated.
Main Results:
- Overlapping SRs were identified for 31.4% of the questions studied.
- A median of three overlapping SRs were found per question.
- Only 6.5% of all SRs met the minimum six methodological characteristics, and 21.2% of overlapping SRs reported discrepant results.
Conclusions:
- A significant proportion of SRs exhibit overlap, raising concerns about research efficiency.
- Most SRs do not adhere to a minimum set of methodological standards, potentially affecting evidence quality.
- Discrepancies in results among overlapping SRs highlight the need for improved standardization and reporting in systematic reviews.
Keywords:
Meta-analysesMethodological qualityRedundancyResearch methodologySystematic reviewsWaste of researchMore Related Videos
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