TY - JOUR
T1 - So many filters, so little time
T2 - the development of a search filter appraisal checklist
AU - Glanville, Julie
AU - Bayliss, Sue
AU - Booth, Andrew
AU - Dundar, Yenal
AU - Fernandes, Hasina
AU - Fleeman, Nigel David
AU - Foster, Louise
AU - Fraser, Cynthia
AU - Fry-Smith, Anne
AU - Golder, Su
AU - Lefebvre, Carol
AU - Miller, Caroline
AU - Paisley, Suzy
AU - Payne, Liz
AU - Price, Alison
AU - Welch, Karen
PY - 2008/10
Y1 - 2008/10
N2 - OBJECTIVES: The authors developed a tool to assess the quality of search filters designed to retrieve records for studies with specific research designs (e.g., diagnostic studies).METHODS: The UK InterTASC Information Specialists' Sub-Group (ISSG), a group of experienced health care information specialists, reviewed the literature to evaluate existing search filter appraisal tools and determined that existing tools were inadequate for their needs. The group held consensus meetings to develop a new filter appraisal tool consisting of a search filter appraisal checklist and a structured abstract. ISSG members tested the final checklist using three published search filters.RESULTS: The detailed ISSG Search Filter Appraisal Checklist captures relevance criteria and methods used to develop and test search filters. The checklist includes categorical and descriptive responses and is accompanied by a structured abstract that provides a summary of key quality features of a filter.DISCUSSION: The checklist is a comprehensive appraisal tool that can assist health sciences librarians and others in choosing search filters. The checklist reports filter design methods and search performance measures, such as sensitivity and precision. The checklist can also aid filter developers by indicating information on core methods that should be reported to help assess filter suitability. The generalizability of the checklist for non-methods filters remains to be explored.
AB - OBJECTIVES: The authors developed a tool to assess the quality of search filters designed to retrieve records for studies with specific research designs (e.g., diagnostic studies).METHODS: The UK InterTASC Information Specialists' Sub-Group (ISSG), a group of experienced health care information specialists, reviewed the literature to evaluate existing search filter appraisal tools and determined that existing tools were inadequate for their needs. The group held consensus meetings to develop a new filter appraisal tool consisting of a search filter appraisal checklist and a structured abstract. ISSG members tested the final checklist using three published search filters.RESULTS: The detailed ISSG Search Filter Appraisal Checklist captures relevance criteria and methods used to develop and test search filters. The checklist includes categorical and descriptive responses and is accompanied by a structured abstract that provides a summary of key quality features of a filter.DISCUSSION: The checklist is a comprehensive appraisal tool that can assist health sciences librarians and others in choosing search filters. The checklist reports filter design methods and search performance measures, such as sensitivity and precision. The checklist can also aid filter developers by indicating information on core methods that should be reported to help assess filter suitability. The generalizability of the checklist for non-methods filters remains to be explored.
KW - Abstracting and Indexing as Topic
KW - Bibliography of Medicine
KW - Great Britain
KW - Humans
KW - Information Storage and Retrieval
KW - Librarians
KW - Periodicals as Topic
KW - Sensitivity and Specificity
KW - Subject Headings
KW - Terminology as Topic
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=55849134829&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3163/1536-5050.96.4.011
DO - 10.3163/1536-5050.96.4.011
M3 - Article
C2 - 18974813
SN - 1558-9439
VL - 96
SP - 356
EP - 361
JO - Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA
JF - Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA
IS - 4
ER -