HOW TO CREATE INSIGHT WITH SEARCH RESULTS

From Literature Searching to Literature Analysis

Session Goals

1. Go beyond the results of your literature search

2. Use an analytical technique to segment and give meaning to a batch of search results

3. Use visualization strategies to turn textual results into pictures

Today we will learn…

Subject Analysis Chronological Review Subject Mapping Literature Review

(Author) Content Analysis

What is Literature Analysis?

Simple definition: Doing something to make sense of search results.

Deeper definition:Looking into search results for themes, patterns, and trends which answer specific questions about the resulting data set.

Subject Analysis

Most literature searches are built on subject or keyword searches

It makes sense that analyzing literature results also focus on subject searches

Chronological Review

Answers the questions:When did this research begin?How much material was written in each year

(or another time period)?

Chronological Review

Method of Analysis:• Count the number of articles written for each

year (or month)• Graph using a line or bar graph to visualize

the trend in number of articles from past to present

Chronological Review Example

2014 202013 8202012 10132011 10142010 11062009 10622008 10452007 9992006 10242005 9912004 8342003 7242002 7032001 6852000 5861999 5341998 445

pubmed – (headache disorders[MeSH Major Topic]) AND ("1960“[Date - Publication] : "3000"[Date - Publication])

Chronological Review Example

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 550

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Series1

Subject Mapping

Answers the questions:How does this subject (these subjects) relate

to shoulder fields?Are the correct search terms being used?

Subject Mapping

Method of Analysis:Draw a schematic of your search terms using

the thesaurus or controlled vocabulary of your database. Try to map terms both broader and narrower than your search term.

Have you considered any of these related terms in your search strategy as alternative language? Does this map suggest broader or narrower terms that should be used in the search instead?

Subject Mapping Example

Headache Disorders

Headache Disorders, Primary

Tension Type Headaches

Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalgias

Migraine Disorders

Common Migraine (Without

Aura)

Classic Migraine (Without

Aura)

Headache Disorders, Secondary

Posdural Puncture

Headaches

Post Traumatic Headaches

Vascular Headaches

Literature Review

Answers the questions:Who are the major contributors to this

subject field?What is their contribution or the point made

in their writing?

Literature Review

Method of Analysis:Sort through search results, ranking by

number of articles written by each author.For each author, summarize the topic of their

research or their contribution to the subject field.

A literature review may also review all authors in the field if you want to be comprehensive rather than selecting only the most prolific authors.

Literature Review Example

pubmed – (migraine disorders[MeSH Major Topic]) AND (“2013“[Date - Publication] : “2014"[Date - Publication]) Allais, G (4) – study of treatment for menstrual migraine,

preliminary trial on ginkolide B, migraine and pregnancy internet study, comparison of treatment with triptans on menstrual migraine

Silberstein, SD (8) – gastroinstinal symptoms, use of botulinum toxin A as migraine treatment, full-spectrum treatment and endpoint goals, review article on dihydroergotimene, study of CGRP gene in cause of migraine, clinical trial of gabapentin

Tepper, DE (4) – use of nasal sprays to treat migraine, use of NSAIDS to treat migraine, treatment of chronic migraine, investigation of migraine and obesity

Author Content Analysis

Summary of themes used by a single authorComprehensive analysis of the author’s work

over their career, not limited by time period or subject area

May be used in conjunction with Literature Review after key authors are identified for “deeper dive”

Author Content Analysis

Method of Analysis:Scan search results and begin grouping them

into broad categoriesCount (use tick marks) results that fall into

each categoryMay be used in conjunction with Literature

Review method textual summary analysis for further insight into each broad category

Author Content Analysis Example

pubmed – (migraine) AND (“Silberstein“[Author]) Medications (75%) Genetics (5%) Side effects (3%) Co-morbidities (7%) Surgical treatments (7%) Chronic migraine (3%)

Author Content Analysis Example

medication

genetics

side effects

co-morbidities

surgical treatments

chronic migraine

Today we learned…

Subject Analysis Chronological Review – best to understand WHEN the

majority of the research was written Subject Mapping – best to understand WHAT TERMS

should be included in your final search strategy Literature Review – best to understand WHO the

major contributors to the field are and WHAT their contributions are

(Author) Content Analysis – best to focus on a single author and analyze the THEMES of their writing over a long period of time

Questions

DEBORAHLOVESCATS@GMAIL .COM

Deborah Keller