 |
 |
Hi all, As a health librarian, I am often asked to assist residents and clinical researchers in their management of information for the SR. Apart from the retrieval from health databases, a myriad of issues affects the management of references even before put through inclusion / exclusion criteria processes. I try to watch the issues closely on my wiki, and offer the following files for your assistance. ~~Dean I. Three way comparison of Mendeley, RefWorks & Zotero http://hlwiki.slais.ubc.ca/index.php/Managing_your_scholarship:_Mendeley,_RefWorks_or_Zotero%3F II. Bibliographic citation software http://hlwiki.slais.ubc.ca/index.php/Bibliographic_citation_software III. Systematic review searching http://hlwiki.slais.ubc.ca/index.php/Systematic_review_searching -----Original Message----- > Date: Mon Jan 17 10:13:26 PST 2011 > From: "Ahmed M. Abou-Setta, MD" <[log in to unmask]> > Subject: Re: Reference Management Software > To: [log in to unmask] > > Hi Jo, hi All, > > Jo has brought up an important topic that we don't discuss much here on this > mail list, practical day-to-day problems faced by systematic reviewers. > Maybe this is because the list members are not very much interested in this > topic, or maybe because the list moderators prefer for us to discuss more > methodological-related issues. In either case, I am happy that this topic > has been brought up since as a systematic reviewer, I do face many of these > issues on a daily basis and there isn't much guidance out there or trends > that one can learn from. It seems that each team/ center has their own set > of in-house rules on how to manage the day to day activities of systematic > reviews and depending on budget, allocated resources and availability of > programs, there doesn't seem to be much consensus. In any case, I am happy > that we got a chance to discuss this topic and hopefully more topics like > this will arise in the future. > > Best wishes to all, > > Ahmed > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Evidence based health (EBH) > [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jo Jordan > Sent: January 17, 2011 4:07 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: Reference Management Software > > Thanks for all the suggestions. > > I agree, it would be very difficult to use just one package to search > all the databases that are required for a SR to be comprehensive. A > lot of time and skill goes into translating the search strategy to > efficiently search different databases due to very different indexing > terms and structures. I'd probably be out of a job if there was such a > package! While the searching has its own set of frustrations, I did > want to see what people use for importing, de-duplicating and sifting > the results of the searches for a systematic review. Part of the > problem is documenting each stage of the process, such as which > databases has each reference come from. > > For most of us we have to use what we are given the best we can, we > use what we are familiar with, or it is about the cost. It seems as > though Endnote is where Thomson ISI are concentrating all their > efforts and in the end I suppose Reference Manager and Procite will > eventually become obsolete. There are lots of web-based products > available as well that are good for day-to-day keeping up to date, > writing papers and sharing but aren't built for handling 1000s of > results from searching multiple databases in SRs. > > JabRef looks like it might be worth exploring further, but doesn't > looks so user friendly so might take a while to get familiar with. > > Many thanks, > Jo > > On 15/01/2011 17:05, k.hopayian wrote: > > Hello Jo and all respondents, > > It has been an eye-opener to read about the different software > > options for managing documents but there are still two problems that > > you identified that have not been commented on. > > > > 1 On the the question of searches, I don't think that any > > bibliographic or document management software can do the kind of > > search you need for an SR. Several allow you to search from within > > the package but search strategies are limited. (I use Bookends, Mac > > only software, which searches Pubmed and downloads both citation and > > pdf). But I don't know of any that will search several databases and > > use the customised filters you need for an SR. > > > > 2 Turning to the question of managing records, I found the best way > > to do this for my recent SR was to set up a database of my own. This > > permitted me to record data such as: primary/secondary ref, > > language, include/exclude choice by each independent reviewer, > > reason for exclusion, final decision to include/exclude, a comments > > box, a checkbox (for flagging documents you want to return to) etc. > > This allows you to sort, search, create lists and write reports etc, > > just as any database should. I imported all the references into the > > data base after de-duplication. I created the database in Filemaker, > > a cross-platform software for Mac and PC. It is great but not cheap! > > It also good for producing lists and reports (e.g. list of excluded > > papers and the reasons, a list of papers that have been tagged for > > special interest). > > > > I can send a screen shot of the database individually to anyone > > interested to know what it looks like (on the understanding you > > forgive its chunky appearance - it was meant for personal use after > > all - and the fact that had I known then what I know now, I would > > have built it differently). > > > > Ta Ta For Now, > > Kev > > > > Dr Kev (Kevork) Hopayian, MD FRCGP > > General Practitioner, Leiston, Suffolk > > Hon Sen Lecturer, School of Medicine, Health Policy and Practice, > > University of East Anglia > > GP CPD Director, Suffolk > > [log in to unmask] > > www.angliangp.org > > Making your practice evidence-based > > http://www.rcgp.org.uk/bookshop/info_1_9780850843316.html > > > > On 13 Jan 2011, at 10:28, Jo Jordan wrote: > > > >> My query is concerned with the practical aspects of conducting a > >> systematic review. > >> > >> I have had another frustrating week downloading and de-duplicating > >> results from a large systematic review search, using a combination of > >> RefWorks and Reference Manager. As usual I have come to the conclusion > >> that all these packages, while they each have their advantages, are > >> not designed for doing systematic reviews or large structured searches > >> that involve searching a number of databases. > >> > >> I have managed to find a way round these issues, but was wondering > >> what software packages other people use for this task and to see if > >> there is anything better out there. > >> > >> Many thanks, > >> Jo > >> > >> -- > >> > >> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > ------- > >> > >> Jo Jordan > >> Research Information Manager > >> Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Centre > >> Primary Care Sciences > >> Keele University > >> Keele, UK > >> ST5 5BG > >> Email: [log in to unmask] > >> Website: http://www.keele.ac.uk/research/pchs/pcmrc/ > >> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > ------- > >>