Dean Giustini

Validating online reference managers for scholarly impact measurement

This paper investigates whether CiteULike and Mendeley are useful for measuring scholarly influence, using a sample of 1,613 papers published in Nature and Science in 2007. Traditional citation counts from the Web of Science (WoS) were used as benchmarks to compare with the number of users who bookmarked the articles in one of the two free online reference manager sites. Statistically significant correlations were found between the user counts and the corresponding WoS citation counts, suggesting that this type of influence is related in some way to traditional citation-based scholarly impact but the number of users of these systems seems to be still too small for them to challenge traditional citation indexes.

The comparative recall of Google Scholar versus PubMed in identical searches for biomedical systematic reviews: a review of searches used in systematic reviews

BackgroundThe usefulness of Google Scholar (GS) as a bibliographic database for biomedical systematic review (SR) searching is a subject of current interest and debate in research circles. Recent research has suggested GS might even be used alone in SR searching. This assertion is challenged here by testing whether GS can locate all studies included in 21 previously published SRs. Second, it examines the recall of GS, taking into account the maximum number of items that can be viewed, and tests whether more complete searches created by an information specialist will improve recall compared to the searches used in the 21 published SRs.MethodsThe authors identified 21 biomedical SRs that had used GS and PubMed as information sources and reported their use of identical, reproducible search strategies in both databases. These search strategies were rerun in GS and PubMed, and analyzed as to their coverage and recall. Efforts were made to improve searches that underperformed in each database.ResultsGS’ overall coverage was higher than PubMed (98% versus 91%) and overall recall is higher in GS: 80% of the references included in the 21 SRs were returned by the original searches in GS versus 68% in PubMed. Only 72% of the included references could be used as they were listed among the first 1,000 hits (the maximum number shown). Practical precision (the number of included references retrieved in the first 1,000, divided by 1,000) was on average 1.9%, which is only slightly lower than in other published SRs. Improving searches with the lowest recall resulted in an increase in recall from 48% to 66% in GS and, in PubMed, from 60% to 85%.ConclusionsAlthough its coverage and precision are acceptable, GS, because of its incomplete recall, should not be used as a single source in SR searching. A specialized, curated medical database such as PubMed provides experienced searchers with tools and functionality that help improve recall, and numerous options in order to optimize precision. Searches for SRs should be performed by experienced searchers creating searches that maximize recall for as many databases as deemed necessary by the search expert.

Hemophagocytic syndromes (HPSs) including hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) in adults: A systematic scoping review.

Most knowledge of hemophagocytic syndromes (HPSs) including hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is derived from pediatric studies; literature on adult HPS/HLH predominantly consists of small retrospective studies with clinical and methodological heterogeneity. The aims of this systematic scoping review were to provide an overview of existing literature on adult HPS/HLH, describe current practices in diagnosis and treatment, and propose priorities for future research. Articles from Ovid Medline, Embase and Pubmed (1975-2015) describing 10 or more unique adults (age>15years) with HPS/HLH were included. 82 publications were eligible: 10 were prospective and 72 were retrospective. Of the six distinct diagnostic criteria, the HLH-2004 criteria were by far the most commonly used. A minority of studies tested for genetic abnormalities (12), soluble interleukin-2 receptor (11), and/or NK function (11) in a subset of patients. Most centers used steroids and either etoposide-based (HLH-94/HLH-2004) or doxorubicin-based (CHOP) initial therapy regimens. Allogeneic hematopoietic cell therapy for treatment of adult HLH has rarely been reported. Mortality in larger treatment focused studies ranged from 20 to 88%. Developing adult-specific diagnostic criteria based on widely evaluable features of secondary HPS/HLH and establishing standard initial therapies are priorities for future research.

The economic burden of gout: A systematic review

OBJECTIVE Gout is a painful and disabling joint disease that constitutes the most common inflammatory arthritis in the US. To clarify the economic impact of gout, we systematically reviewed the literature on the direct and indirect costs associated with this disease. METHODS We conducted a literature search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, NHS Economic Evaluation, and CINAHL databases to identify studies of gout and economics. We systematically reviewed published studies that met our inclusion criteria and extracted and summarized all relevant economic parameters. Reported costs were inflation-adjusted to 2013 US dollars (USD). RESULTS A total of 15 studies met all eligibility criteria. Three controlled studies reported all-cause total direct costs based on specific populations (i.e.,

Instagram and WhatsApp in Health and Healthcare: An Overview

4733,

New Directions in Health Sciences Libraries in Canada: Research and Evidence based Practice Are Key

16,925, and

Effective uses of social media in public health and medicine: a systematic review of systematic reviews

18,362 per capita among employed, elderly, and treatment-refractory gout populations, respectively, and

Google Scholar is not enough to be used alone for systematic reviews

2562,

Comparing the coverage, recall, and precision of searches for 120 systematic reviews in Embase, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar: A prospective study

10,590, and

Pharmacy 2.0: A scoping review of social media use in pharmacy

7188 among corresponding non-gout patients). Two additional studies, although uncontrolled, allowed for estimation of total all-cause direct costs in unselected gout populations (