***apologies for cross-posting***
Hello! Do you feel that a structured abstract indicates a) an easier-to-read article b) a better designed study or c) both? I find it easier to read a structured abstract, and it seems that they are more likely to include confidence intervals and p-values in the abstract than a traditional abstract. Structured abstracts seem more apt to include epi/EBM figures, such as the Positive Predictive Value and Number Needed to Treat.
There are studies that say the quality of abstract is superior if it's a structured abstract. However, does a structured abstract correlate with better-designed studies and/or easier-to-read studies? If anyone has cites handy supporting or disproving this, please let me know. I will summarize to the lists. If structured abstracts are linked with better studies, I was thinking perhaps it could be a handy pre-screener for us librarians wanting to choose articles for our EBM students to critically appraise.
Thank you,
Tanya
Tanya Feddern, MLIS, AHIP, MOT, OTR/L
http://www.geocities.com/nqiya/EBMbib.html
http://www.geocities.com/nqiya/index.html
Evidence-Based Medicine Assistant Professor; Reference & Education Services
Librarian University of Miami School of Medicine, Louis Calder Memorial Library
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