Literature Review & Synthesis Flashcards

A research assistant is asked to find every published study on a narrow clinical question so that bias from missed studies is minimized. Which review type best fits this goal?

Answer: Systematic review

A systematic review uses a predefined, exhaustive, reproducible search to identify all eligible studies on a focused question.

Which framework is most commonly used to structure a focused clinical question before searching the literature?

Answer: PICO

PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome) breaks a clinical question into searchable components.

In a database search, combining the terms "adolescents" OR "teenagers" will generally do what to the number of results?

Answer: Increase it

OR retrieves records containing either term, broadening the result set.

Searching PubMed with the truncation term "nurs*" would retrieve which of the following?

Answer: Nurse, nurses, nursing

The asterisk truncation symbol retrieves all words beginning with the given root.

What is the main purpose of using controlled vocabulary such as MeSH terms in a literature search?

Answer: To capture articles indexed under a standardized concept regardless of the authors' wording

Controlled vocabulary maps varied author terminology to a single standardized subject heading, improving recall and consistency.

Which source is considered gray literature?

Answer: A government technical report

Gray literature is material produced outside traditional commercial or academic publishing, such as government and agency reports.

Why do systematic reviewers search gray literature and trial registries in addition to journals?

Answer: To reduce publication bias from unpublished negative or null results

Studies with null or negative findings are less likely to be published, so searching unpublished sources helps counter publication bias.