Saleh Ahlam A, Ratajeski Melissa A, Bertolet Marnie
Assistant Librarian Arizona Health Sciences Library, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America.
Reference Librarian, Health Sciences Library System, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Evid Based Libr Inf Pract. 2014;9(3):28-50. doi: 10.18438/b8dw3k.
To identify estimates of time taken to search grey literature in support of health sciences systematic reviews and to identify searcher or systematic review characteristics that may impact resource selection or time spent searching.
A survey was electronically distributed to searchers embarking on a new systematic review. Characteristics of the searcher and systematic review were collected along with time spent searching and what resources were searched. Time and resources were tabulated and resources were categorized as grey or non-grey. Data was analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis tests.
Out of 81 original respondents, 21% followed through with completion of the surveys in their entirety. The median time spent searching all resources was 471 minutes, and of those a median of 85 minutes were spent searching grey literature. The median number of resources used in a systematic review search was four and the median number of grey literature sources searched was two. The amount of time spent searching was influenced by whether the systematic review was grant funded. Additionally, the number of resources searched was impacted by institution type and whether systematic review training was received.
This study characterized the amount of time for conducting systematic review searches including searching the grey literature, in addition to the number and types of resources used. This may aid searchers in planning their time, along with providing benchmark information for future studies. This paper contributes by quantifying current grey literature search patterns and associating them with searcher and review characteristics. Further discussion and research into the search approach for grey literature in support of systematic reviews is encouraged.
确定为支持健康科学系统评价而检索灰色文献所需的时间估计，并确定可能影响资源选择或检索时间的检索者或系统评价特征。
通过电子方式向开始进行新的系统评价的检索者发放调查问卷。收集检索者和系统评价的特征，以及检索所花费的时间和检索的资源。对时间和资源进行列表统计，并将资源分为灰色或非灰色类别。使用Kruskal-Wallis检验对数据进行分析。
在81名原始受访者中，21%的人完整地完成了调查问卷。检索所有资源所花费的中位时间为471分钟，其中检索灰色文献的中位时间为85分钟。系统评价检索中使用的资源中位数为4个，检索的灰色文献来源中位数为2个。检索所花费的时间受系统评价是否由资助支持的影响。此外，检索的资源数量受机构类型以及是否接受系统评价培训的影响。
本研究描述了进行系统评价检索（包括检索灰色文献）所需的时间，以及所使用资源的数量和类型。这可能有助于检索者规划时间，并为未来研究提供基准信息。本文通过量化当前灰色文献检索模式并将其与检索者和评价特征相关联做出了贡献。鼓励对支持系统评价的灰色文献检索方法进行进一步的讨论和研究。
