Novel citation-based search method for scientific literature: a validation study
Abstract Background We recently developed CoCites, a citation-based search method that is designed to be more efficient than traditional keyword-based methods. The method begins with identification of one or more highly relevant publications (query articles) and consists of two searches: the co-cita...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2020-02-01
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| Series: | BMC Medical Research Methodology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-020-0907-5 |
| _version_ | 1818326910549098496 |
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| author | A. Cecile J. W. Janssens Marta Gwinn J. Elaine Brockman Kimberley Powell Michael Goodman |
| author_facet | A. Cecile J. W. Janssens Marta Gwinn J. Elaine Brockman Kimberley Powell Michael Goodman |
| author_sort | A. Cecile J. W. Janssens |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background We recently developed CoCites, a citation-based search method that is designed to be more efficient than traditional keyword-based methods. The method begins with identification of one or more highly relevant publications (query articles) and consists of two searches: the co-citation search, which ranks publications on their co-citation frequency with the query articles, and the citation search, which ranks publications on frequency of all citations that cite or are cited by the query articles. Methods We aimed to reproduce the literature searches of published systematic reviews and meta-analyses and assess whether CoCites retrieves all eligible articles while screening fewer titles. Results A total of 250 reviews were included. CoCites retrieved a median of 75% of the articles that were included in the original reviews. The percentage of retrieved articles was higher (88%) when the query articles were cited more frequently and when they had more overlap in their citations. Applying CoCites to only the highest-cited article yielded similar results. The co-citation and citation searches combined were more efficient when the review authors had screened more than 500 titles, but not when they had screened less. Conclusions CoCites is an efficient and accurate method for finding relevant related articles. The method uses the expert knowledge of authors to rank related articles, does not depend on keyword selection and requires no special expertise to build search queries. The method is transparent and reproducible. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T12:07:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1519de8bba594f5286af81c9d26ad692 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2288 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T12:07:53Z |
| publishDate | 2020-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medical Research Methodology |
| spelling | doaj.art-1519de8bba594f5286af81c9d26ad6922022-12-21T23:46:54ZengBMCBMC Medical Research Methodology1471-22882020-02-0120111110.1186/s12874-020-0907-5Novel citation-based search method for scientific literature: a validation studyA. Cecile J. W. Janssens0Marta Gwinn1J. Elaine Brockman2Kimberley Powell3Michael Goodman4Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory UniversityDepartment of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory UniversityDepartment of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory UniversityWoodruff Health Sciences Center Library, Emory UniversityDepartment of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory UniversityAbstract Background We recently developed CoCites, a citation-based search method that is designed to be more efficient than traditional keyword-based methods. The method begins with identification of one or more highly relevant publications (query articles) and consists of two searches: the co-citation search, which ranks publications on their co-citation frequency with the query articles, and the citation search, which ranks publications on frequency of all citations that cite or are cited by the query articles. Methods We aimed to reproduce the literature searches of published systematic reviews and meta-analyses and assess whether CoCites retrieves all eligible articles while screening fewer titles. Results A total of 250 reviews were included. CoCites retrieved a median of 75% of the articles that were included in the original reviews. The percentage of retrieved articles was higher (88%) when the query articles were cited more frequently and when they had more overlap in their citations. Applying CoCites to only the highest-cited article yielded similar results. The co-citation and citation searches combined were more efficient when the review authors had screened more than 500 titles, but not when they had screened less. Conclusions CoCites is an efficient and accurate method for finding relevant related articles. The method uses the expert knowledge of authors to rank related articles, does not depend on keyword selection and requires no special expertise to build search queries. The method is transparent and reproducible.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-020-0907-5CitationCo-citationLiterature searchMeta-analysisSystematic reviewKeywords |
| spellingShingle | A. Cecile J. W. Janssens Marta Gwinn J. Elaine Brockman Kimberley Powell Michael Goodman Novel citation-based search method for scientific literature: a validation study BMC Medical Research Methodology Citation Co-citation Literature search Meta-analysis Systematic review Keywords |
| title | Novel citation-based search method for scientific literature: a validation study |
| title_full | Novel citation-based search method for scientific literature: a validation study |
| title_fullStr | Novel citation-based search method for scientific literature: a validation study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Novel citation-based search method for scientific literature: a validation study |
| title_short | Novel citation-based search method for scientific literature: a validation study |
| title_sort | novel citation based search method for scientific literature a validation study |
| topic | Citation Co-citation Literature search Meta-analysis Systematic review Keywords |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-020-0907-5 |
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