Back to the basics: Guidance for designing good literature searches

DOI

10.1016/j.sapharm.2024.01.009

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

4-1-2024

Publication Title

Research in social & administrative pharmacy : RSAP

Volume

20

Issue

4

First Page

463

Last Page

468

Keywords

Biomedical research, Peer review, Pharmacy research, Research, Research design

Abstract

The number of scientific publications is growing at an unprecedented rate. Failure to properly evaluate existing literature at the start of a project may result in a researcher wasting time and resources. As pharmacy researchers and scholars look to conceptualize new studies, it is imperative to begin with a high-quality literature review that reveals what is known and unknown about a given topic. The purpose of this commentary is to provide useful guidance on conducting rigorous searches of the literature that inform the design and execution of research. Guidance for less formal literature reviews can be adapted from best practices utilized within the formalized field of evidence synthesis. Additionally, researchers can draw on guidance from PRESS (Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies) to engage in self-evaluation of their search strategies. Finally, developing an awareness of common pitfalls when designing literature searches can provide researchers with confidence that their research is designed to fill clearly articulated gaps in knowledge.

Open Access

38272775 (pubmed); NIHMS1995025 (mid); PMC11149711 (pmc); 10.1016/j.sapharm.2024.01.009 (doi); S1551-7411(24)00021-4 (pii)

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