Article type
Year
Abstract
Introduction: As part of the European Union BIOMED Programme, six partners (Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and UK) are collaborating in a Project, co-ordinated by the UK Cochrane Centre, to identify reports of controlled trials, by handsearching European general health care journals. Once identified these reports are forwarded to the US National Library of Medicine (NLM) where they are retagged in MEDLINE. From April 1996 these reports have also been made available in the The Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (CCTR), published as part of The Cochrane Library.
Objective: To ensure that by 1998 reports of trials published in European general health care journals since 1948 are accessible through MEDLINE and CCTR.
Methods: General health care journals published in Europe have been identified and ranked according to their likely yield of reports of trials. Each partner in the Project has recruited and trained handsearchers to identify these reports. Once identified, the MEDLINE record for each report is downloaded and forwarded to the NLM, through the Baltimore Cochrane Center, for retagging with the appropriate Publication Type terms. For those reports of trials not on MEDLINE, records will be forwarded to the NLM for inclusion in an ancillary database currently under development. All records will also be included in CCTR.
Results: Over thirty journals are being/have been handsearched, and over 8000 reports of trials have been identified. This project has resulted in 4000 reports, which were not tagged as trials, being forwarded to the NLM during 1995. These have been identifiable in MEDLINE as reports of trials since January 1996. In addition to these 4000 reports, 2000 pre-1966 reports are now available on CCTR.
Discussion: This Project has already contributed importantly to the Cochrane Collaboration, and should have provided substantial help to those preparing systematic reviews. Issues surrounding quality control of the handsearching, and effective means of data transfer will be discussed.
Objective: To ensure that by 1998 reports of trials published in European general health care journals since 1948 are accessible through MEDLINE and CCTR.
Methods: General health care journals published in Europe have been identified and ranked according to their likely yield of reports of trials. Each partner in the Project has recruited and trained handsearchers to identify these reports. Once identified, the MEDLINE record for each report is downloaded and forwarded to the NLM, through the Baltimore Cochrane Center, for retagging with the appropriate Publication Type terms. For those reports of trials not on MEDLINE, records will be forwarded to the NLM for inclusion in an ancillary database currently under development. All records will also be included in CCTR.
Results: Over thirty journals are being/have been handsearched, and over 8000 reports of trials have been identified. This project has resulted in 4000 reports, which were not tagged as trials, being forwarded to the NLM during 1995. These have been identifiable in MEDLINE as reports of trials since January 1996. In addition to these 4000 reports, 2000 pre-1966 reports are now available on CCTR.
Discussion: This Project has already contributed importantly to the Cochrane Collaboration, and should have provided substantial help to those preparing systematic reviews. Issues surrounding quality control of the handsearching, and effective means of data transfer will be discussed.