Challenges and Strategies for Literature Search in EBP Project

This assignment addresses the challenges of conducting literature searches in the context of an Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) project. The student outlines the difficulties encountered, including the vast number of articles, the presence of both peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed sources, and the accumulation of research over time. The student details the search strategy employed, including the selection of relevant databases like PLoS, Google Scholar, CIHNAL, and PubMed, and the use of specific keywords. The student highlights the challenges of accessing certain articles due to subscription requirements and the time needed to complete the search. The student provides recommendations for classmates to improve their search strategies, emphasizing the use of peer-reviewed journals to ensure data integrity and reduce bias. The student concludes with a reference list including articles from 2017 and 2019.

DISCUSSION 1
Discussion
Student name
Institutional affiliation
Date

DISCUSSION 2
Discussion
There are various challenges in performing a literature search. The first challenge is there
are several articles to choose from. There are cross sectional studies, system reviews, random
clinical trials among others. Also, there are peer reviewed journals and non peer reviewed
journals. Another challenge is that over the years, several researchers have published several
papers which has led to the accumulation of research articles. Another challenge is that some
articles are biased which compromises the quality of the results obtained. In the Evidence based
project, a search strategy was developed. Only articles relevant to the clinical practice were
selected. Articles that were published more than five years ago were not selected. Only peer
reviewed databases were chosen, for example, PLoS, Google Scholar, CIHNAL and PubMed
(Jordan et al., 2019)
Using the right key words, it was easy to find relevant articles. Developing asearch
criterion also helped to improve the search process. The major challenge is that some articles
required subscription in order to be accessed. Others required the user to pay a certain amount to
download the paper. It will take approximately one week to complete the search.
I would recommend to fellow classmates to develop a search strategy that will help filter
the relevant articles. Nelson & Le (2019), recommended that they should used articles that have
been published in a peer reviewed journal to ensure there is no bias and the articles are genuine.
Peer reviewed journals also ensure that the data collected is genuine and there is no data
falsification.

DISCUSSION 3
References
Jordan, J. L., Hayden, J. A., Irvin, E., Parker, R., Smith, A., & van der Windt, D. A. (2017).
Protocol: a systematic review of studies developing and/or evaluating search strategies to
identify prognosis studies. Systematic reviews, 6(1), 88.
Neilson, C., & Lê, M. L. (2019). A failed attempt at developing a search filter for systematic
review methodology articles in Ovid Embase. Journal of the Medical Library
Association: JMLA, 107(2), 203.