APC The Article Processing Charge is a fee charged by publishers to the author to cover the cost of publishing a gold or hybrid open access article. This fee is a once-off charge to recompense publishers for loss of subscription fees.
Bibliography: A list of the references used in the writing of a study or book, usually arranged alphabetically at the end of the study.
Boolean operator: Typical Boolean operators are “AND”, “OR”, “NOT”. These are used to refine online searches
Controlled Vocabulary: A defined set of terms to ensure that all related terms are grouped to avoid multiple versions of the same term being used. Each term is normally sub-divided to cover more explicit aspects of the umbrella term. It simplifies the search process when it’s available. “MeSH” is the controlled vocabulary in PubMed and Cochrane, Embase uses “Emtree”, CINAHL uses “Subject Heading”.
Creative Commons: "Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that helps overcome legal obstacles to the sharing of knowledge and creativity to address the world’s pressing challenges." For instance, CC BY: This license allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use.
Database: Bibliographic databases store references and abstracts from clinical journals and other sources such as Conference proceedings, websites etc. The references will usually consist of the citation with an abstract if available. The databases will have a range of tools to assist with searching and retrieving specific references.
DOI: Digital Object Identifier - a unique ID used to permanently identify an article or document and link to it on the web.
Emtree: The controlled vocabulary for the database Embase
EndNote: Perhaps the most widely used reference management tool. You can import references found through database searching, or add individual items. You can also export your references in a range of formats, including as a bibliography in a range of citation styles. There is a free version available here.
Flow Diagram/Chart: “The flow diagram depicts the flow of information through the different phases of a systematic review. It maps out the number of records identified, included and excluded, and the reasons for exclusions.” From PRISMA-Statement.org. You can download charts from here.
MeSH: Acronym for “Medical Subject Heading” – in PubMed and in Cochrane. A MeSH term is an umbrella term that groups all related terms to facilitate a search.
Metadata: Metadata is data that describes other data, focusing on the attributes of the data it describes but not the content of the original data.
ORCID ID: "ORCID provides a persistent digital identifier (an ORCID iD) that you own and control, and that distinguishes you from every other researcher. You can connect your iD with your professional information — affiliations, grants, publications, peer review, and more. You can use your iD to share your information with other systems, ensuring you get recognition for all your contributions, saving you time and hassle, and reducing the risk of errors." Register for your unique ORCID ID here
Predatory Journal: Journals that appear/claim to be genuine scholarly journals but do not carry out quality checks, peer review etc and normally charge a substantial article processing fee. Once you have submitted a paper to them, they chase you mercilessly for the fee and publish without any editing. Publishers that carry out these practices are known as "predatory publishers". For more details, please see this article
PRISMA: "PRISMA is an evidence-based minimum set of items for reporting in systematic reviews and meta-analyses.”
PRISMA-S: “PRISMA-S is an extension to the PRISMA Statement for Reporting Literature Searches in Systematic Reviews.”
Protocol: In the context of research writing, a protocol sets out in advance the parameters and guidelines for a systematic review paper. The final paper should align with the protocol.
Rapid review: Assessment of what is already known about a policy or practice issue, by using systematic review methods to search and critically appraise existing research. The completeness of searching is determined by time constraints and there is a time-limited formal quality assessment". From Grant, M.J. and Booth, A., 2009. A typology of reviews: an analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health information & libraries journal, 26(2), pp.91-108.
Scoping review: Preliminary assessment of potential size and scope of available research literature. It aims to identify the nature and extent of research evidence (usually including ongoing research). The completeness of searching is determined by time/scope constraints - there is no formal quality assessment. From Grant, M.J. 2009 (as above)
Sensitivity: In the context of searching, sensitivity is where a broad search is used in an attempt to ensure all relevant studies are retrieved. This is generally used for Systematic Reviews. A higher number of non-relevant papers will be retrieved.
Specificity: In relation to searching, specificity is when a narrow, precise search is used which attempts to retrieve only relevant documents. Useful for general literature searches where all relevant papers do not need to be found.
Snowballing: "Snowballing" in the context of searching is where key articles are used to check for citing articles, similar articles, or for checking through their reference lists.
Systematic Review: A systematic review summarises the evidence on a clearly formulated topic. To avoid bias, it must collect all the available evidence, assess it for relevance, then the remaining evidence must be critically appraised by at least two independent reviewers for quality. It is time-consuming and, by its nature, must be done systematically with all available steps documented.
Synonym: An alternative word or phrase for a specific term.
