scholarly journals Crowdsourcing and COVID-19: a case study of Cochrane Crowd

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-31
Author(s):  
Anna Noel-Storr ◽  
Gordon Dooley ◽  
Robin Featherstone ◽  
Susanna Wisniewski ◽  
Ian Shemilt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Evidence Synthesis ◽  
Controlled Trials ◽  
Rapid Reviews ◽  
Central Register

Cochrane has used crowdsourcing effectively to identify health evidence since 2014. To date, over 175,000 trialshave been identified for Cochrane’s Central Register of Controlled Trials via Cochrane Crowd (https://crowd.cochrane.org), Cochrane’s citizen science platform, engaging a Crowd of over 20,000 people from 166 countries. The COVID-19 pandemic presented the evidence synthesis community with the enormous challenge of keeping up with the exponential output of COVID-19 research. This case study will detail the new tasks we developed to aid the production of COVID-19 rapid reviews and supply the Cochrane COVID-19 study register. The pandemic initially looked set to disrupt the Crowd team’s plans for 2020 but has in fact served to further our understanding of the potential role crowdsourcing can play in the health evidence ecosystem.

scholarly journals Considerations for conducting systematic reviews: evaluating the performance of different methods for de-duplicating references

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra McKeown ◽  
Zuhaib M. Mir
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Reviews ◽  
False Positive ◽  
Evidence Synthesis ◽  
False Negative ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Controlled Trials ◽  
Cochrane Central Register ◽  
Central Register

Abstract Background Systematic reviews involve searching multiple bibliographic databases to identify eligible studies. As this type of evidence synthesis is increasingly pursued, the use of various electronic platforms can help researchers improve the efficiency and quality of their research. We examined the accuracy and efficiency of commonly used electronic methods for flagging and removing duplicate references during this process. Methods A heterogeneous sample of references was obtained by conducting a similar topical search in MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and PsycINFO databases. References were de-duplicated via manual abstraction to create a benchmark set. The default settings were then used in Ovid multifile search, EndNote desktop, Mendeley, Zotero, Covidence, and Rayyan to de-duplicate the sample of references independently. Using the benchmark set as reference, the number of false-negative and false-positive duplicate references for each method was identified, and accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were determined. Results We found that the most accurate methods for identifying duplicate references were Ovid, Covidence, and Rayyan. Ovid and Covidence possessed the highest specificity for identifying duplicate references, while Rayyan demonstrated the highest sensitivity. Conclusion This study reveals the strengths and weaknesses of commonly used de-duplication methods and provides strategies for improving their performance to avoid unintentionally removing eligible studies and introducing bias into systematic reviews. Along with availability, ease-of-use, functionality, and capability, these findings are important to consider when researchers are selecting database platforms and supporting software programs for conducting systematic reviews.

Functional cortical changes associated with shoulder instability – a systematic review

2021 ◽  
pp. 175857322110190
Author(s):  
Morissa F Livett ◽  
Deborah Williams ◽  
Hayley Potter ◽  
Melinda Cairns
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Joint Instability ◽  
Glenohumeral Joint ◽  
Controlled Trials ◽  
Cochrane Central Register ◽  
Cortical Function ◽  
High Quality Research ◽  
Central Register ◽  
Rehabilitative Measures ◽  
Randomised Controlled

Background Glenohumeral joint instability is associated with structural deficits and/or alterations in sensory and motor processing; however, a proportion of patients with glenohumeral joint instability fail to respond to surgical and rehabilitative measures. This systematic review aimed to establish if functional cortical changes occur in patients with glenohumeral joint instability. Methods AMED, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Embase, Medline, PEDro, Pubmed, PsychINFO and Scopus were searched from inception to 17 March 2021. Randomised controlled trials and non-randomised trials were included and quality was appraised using the Downs and Black tool. Results One thousand two hundred seventy-nine records were identified of which five were included in the review. All studies showed altered cortical function when comparing instability patients with healthy controls and included areas associated with higher cortical functions. Discussion The findings of this systematic review offer some insight as to why interventions addressing peripheral pathoanatomical factors in patients with glenohumeral joint instability may fail in some cases due to functional cortical changes. However, data are of moderate to high risk of bias. Further high-quality research is required to ascertain the degree of functional cortical changes associated with the type and duration of glenohumeral joint instability.

scholarly journals Automation in Systematic, Scoping and Rapid Reviews by an NLP Toolkit: A Case Study in Enhanced Living Environments

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eftim Zdravevski ◽  
Petre Lameski ◽  
Vladimir Trajkovik ◽  
Ivan Chorbev ◽  
Rossitza Goleva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Reviews ◽  
Living Environments

scholarly journals Using citizen science data to monitor the Sustainable Development Goals: a bottom-up analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Ballerini ◽  
Sylvia I. Bergh
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Science Data ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Development Goals

AbstractOfficial data are not sufficient for monitoring the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): they do not reach remote locations or marginalized populations and can be manipulated by governments. Citizen science data (CSD), defined as data that citizens voluntarily gather by employing a wide range of technologies and methodologies, could help to tackle these problems and ultimately improve SDG monitoring. However, the link between CSD and the SDGs is still understudied. This article aims to develop an empirical understanding of the CSD-SDG link by focusing on the perspective of projects which employ CSD. Specifically, the article presents primary and secondary qualitative data collected on 30 of these projects and an explorative comparative case study analysis. It finds that projects which use CSD recognize that the SDGs can provide a valuable framework and legitimacy, as well as attract funding, visibility, and partnerships. But, at the same time, the article reveals that these projects also encounter several barriers with respect to the SDGs: a widespread lack of knowledge of the goals, combined with frustration and political resistance towards the UN, may deter these projects from contributing their data to the SDG monitoring apparatus.

Network vs. Pairwise Meta-Analyses: A Case Study of the Impact of an Evidence-Synthesis Paradigm on Value of Information Outcomes

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (10) ◽  
pp. 995-1004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zafar Zafari ◽  
Kristian Thorlund ◽  
J. Mark FitzGerald ◽  
Carlo A. Marra ◽  
Mohsen Sadatsafavi
Keyword(s):  
Value Of Information ◽  
Evidence Synthesis ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
The Impact

Efficacy of Taping for the Treatment of Plantar Fasciosis

2010 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander T. M. van de Water ◽  
Caroline M. Speksnijder
Keyword(s):  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Clinical Relevance ◽  
Methodological Quality ◽  
Evidence Synthesis ◽  
Plantar Fascia ◽  
Controlled Trials ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Best Evidence Synthesis ◽  
Evidence Database

Background: The proximal insertional disorder of the plantar fascia is plantar fasciosis. Although plantar fasciosis is frequently seen by different health-care providers, indistinctness of etiology and pathogenesis is still present. A variety of interventions are seen in clinical practice. Taping constructions are frequently used for the treatment of plantar fasciosis. However, a systematic review assessing the efficacy of this therapy modality is not available. Methods: To assess the efficacy of a taping construction as an intervention or as part of an intervention in patients with plantar fasciosis on pain and disability, controlled trials were searched for in CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane CENTRAL, and PEDro using a specific search strategy. The Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale was used to judge methodological quality. Clinical relevance was assessed with five specific questions. A best-evidence synthesis consisting of five levels of evidence was applied for qualitative analysis. Results: Five controlled trials met the inclusion criteria. Three trials with high methodological quality and of clinical relevance contributed to the best-evidence synthesis. The findings were strong evidence of pain improvement at 1-week follow-up, inconclusive results for change in level of disability in the short term, and indicative findings that the addition of taping on stretching exercises has a surplus value. Conclusions: There is limited evidence that taping can reduce pain in the short term in patients with plantar fasciosis. The effect on disability is inconclusive. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 100(1): 41–51, 2010)

Rapid reviews for evidence synthesis

2017 ◽  
Vol 148 (9) ◽  
pp. 424-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferrán Catalá-López ◽  
Adrienne Stevens ◽  
Chantelle Garritty ◽  
Brian Hutton
Keyword(s):  
Evidence Synthesis ◽  
Rapid Reviews
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