Table 1 Three stages within systematic searches and challenges for website searches
Stage | Objective | Challenges in undertaking this step for websites and online resources |
|---|---|---|
Planning the search | • To have a rationale for searching methods, based on the purpose of the search • Planning where to search, who is undertaking the search and the timeframe of the review | • Discovery of suitable websites to use • Deciding how representative the range of websites need to be in relation to the scope of the review and time available to search |
Executing the search | • To utilise each resource in a consistent way, and in a way that is appropriate for each individual resource | • Planning how to search when each source is structured differently and may differ in terms of focus and content • Using individual approaches for each website • Searching resources where the functionality for searches consisting of multiple words and Boolean searching is often limited |
Screening and information management | • To assess literature for relevance (screening or sifting) • To quantify how many items of literature is processed • To report on methods | • Which literature to collect and how much screening to carry out • Limited functionality to transfer results to citation management tools • The level of detail needed for recordkeeping for preliminary screening at source |