Improving Access to Randomized Trials through EMBASE
Author Information
Author(s): Lefebvre Carol, Eisinga Anne, McDonald Steve, Paul Nina
Primary Institution: UK Cochrane Centre
Hypothesis
Can a search strategy be devised to identify reports of randomized trials in EMBASE that are not indexed in MEDLINE?
Conclusion
The study successfully increased access to reports of trials in EMBASE, particularly in non-English languages.
Supporting Evidence
- Over 80,000 reports of trials were identified that were not indexed in MEDLINE.
- The search strategy improved access to trials published in languages other than English.
- Cumulative sensitivity of the search strategy ranged from 0.1% to 60%.
Takeaway
This study helps people find more reports of medical trials, especially those written in languages other than English, by improving how we search for them.
Methodology
A sensitive search strategy was developed and tested on EMBASE records from 1980 to 2005 to identify trials not indexed in MEDLINE.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to selective availability of data and reliance on titles and abstracts for identifying trials.
Limitations
The search strategy was based on a small 'gold standard' set and was not validated in an independent test set.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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