Assessing journal author guidelines for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: findings from an institutional sample.

Objective: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRs/MAs) are designed to be rigorous research methodologies that synthesize information and inform practice. An increase in their publication runs parallel to quality concerns and a movement toward standards to improve reporting and methodology. With...

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Publicado en:Journal of the Medical Library Association Vol. 110; no. 1; pp. 63 - 72
Autores principales: Goldberg, Johanna, Boyce, Lindsay M., Soudant, Céline, Godwin, Kendra
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: University of Pittsburgh, University Library System Jan2022
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Jan2022
      vid: 110
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      pid: 60406
      pub: University of Pittsburgh, University Library System
      place: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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        155262511
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        10.5195/jmla.2022.1273
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        atl: Assessing journal author guidelines for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: findings from an institutional sample.
      aug:
        au:
          Goldberg, Johanna
          Boyce, Lindsay M.
          Soudant, Céline
          Godwin, Kendra
        affil: Research Informationist, Medical Library, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, NY
      sug:
        subj:
          Systematic Review
          Meta Analysis
          Practice Guidelines Evaluation
          Authors
          Electronic Publications
          Library Services
          Human
          Research Methodology
          Journal Impact Factor
          Publishing
          Quality of Care Research
          Librarians
          Professional Role
      ab: Objective: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRs/MAs) are designed to be rigorous research methodologies that synthesize information and inform practice. An increase in their publication runs parallel to quality concerns and a movement toward standards to improve reporting and methodology. With the goal of informing the guidance librarians provide to SR/MA teams, this study assesses online journal author guidelines from an institutional sample to determine whether these author guidelines address SR/MA methodological quality. Methods: A Web of Science Core Collection (Clarivate) search identified SRs/MAs published in 2014-2019 by authors affiliated with a single institution. The AMSTAR 2 checklist was used to develop an assessment tool of closed questions specific to measures for SR/MA methodological quality in author guidelines, with questions added about author guidelines in general. Multiple reviewers completed the assessment. Results: The author guidelines of 141 journals were evaluated. Less than 20% addressed at least one of the assessed measures specific to SR/MA methodological quality. There was wide variation in author guidelines between journals from the same publisher apart from the American Medical Association, which consistently offered in-depth author guidelines. Normalized Eigenfactor and Article Influence Scores did not indicate author guideline breadth. Conclusions: Most author guidelines in the institutional sample did not address SR/MA methodological quality. When consulting with teams embarking on SRs/MAs, librarians should not expect author guidelines to provide details about the requirements of the target journals. Librarians should advise teams to follow established SR/MA standards, contact journal staff, and review SRs/MAs previously published in the journal.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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