Tracing the 'grey literature' of poster presentations: a mapping review

Are Conference Posters Being Cited?

We present a small case study on citations of conference posters using poster collections from both Figshare and Zenodo. The study takes into account the years 2016-2020 according to the dates of publication on the platforms. Citation data was taken from DataCite, Crossref and Dimensions. Primarily, we want to know to what extent scientific posters are being cited and thereby which impact posters potentially have on the scholarly landscape and especially on academic publications. Our data-driven analysis reveals that posters are rarely cited. Citations could only be found for 1% of the posters in our dataset. A limitation in this study however is that the impact of academic posters was not measured empirical but rather descriptive.

How to develop and present a conference poster

RATIONALE AND KEY POINTS

Conference posters can be used by nurses to disseminate the findings of studies, audits or service improvement projects. Despite the lack of robust evidence on what an optimal poster should include, the literature contains several sources of useful information on the topic. A conference poster requires thorough and systematic preparation; authors will need to determine what message they want to convey, what the aim of their poster is, and how they will ensure precision, clarity, brevity and visual appeal. This article provides a step-by-step guide to assist nurses in developing optimal poster content and design, and in delivering effective poster presentations. REFLECTIVE ACTIVITY: 'How to' articles can help to update your practice and ensure it remains evidence based. Apply this article to your practice. Reflect on and write a short account of.

The Bibliometric Analysis of the Studies Presented at the Turkish National Otorhinolaryngology Congresses in the Period 2009-2018

Objective

The aim of this study was to quantitatively and qualitatively analyze the abstracts presented at Turkish National Otorhinolaryngology Congresses in the years from 2009 to 2018.

Methods

Abstracts were defined and grouped according to their field of study, design, level of evidence, number of authors, the main institution in which they were held, and whether they were uni- or multi-centric. Frequency and percentage tables were prepared.

Results

In total, 5,463 studies, of which 1,431 (26.2%) were oral presentations and 4,032 (73.8%) were poster presentations were reviewed. The highest number of studies was in the field of otology and in the form of oral presentations (32%), and in the field of head and neck surgery in the form of poster presentations (37%). Fifty-seven percent of all studies were conducted in university hospitals, and 34% in Training and Research Hospitals. Eighty-three percent of oral presentations and 99% of poster presentations were clinical studies. The rate of experimental animal studies was 16% in oral presentations. The most commonly used design of orally presented clinical studies was descriptive (31%), whereas prospective randomized controlled design was the least common (3%). No study with a level 1 of evidence was found. The rate of oral papers presented with evidence levels 2, 3, 4, and 5 among all oral presentations were 22%, 13%, 11%, and 54%, respectively.

Conclusion

The findings indicated that the abstracts were satisfactory in quantity, but overall scientific quality was not sufficient. The data obtained may serve as a basis for future studies, and follow-up studies may guide individuals and institutions that steer the Turkish ENT community.

Interactive Data-Gathering Posters as a Research Tool: A Case Study Assessing Public Opinion on Incorporation of Natural Behavior into Management Systems

We developed a simple, interactive poster design. Via brief infographics and simple numbered stickers, participants were able to provide input about their top three areas of importance regarding a specific topic (i.e., promoting natural behavior in goats). The tool was utilized in three scenarios-an international conference, a regional veterinary conference, and a regional school leadership day. After a short discussion with the presenter, participants ranked their top three areas of importance. Response rates ranged from 22% to 100%. The data collection performed was intended to demonstrate a proof-of-concept of the poster design; therefore, comparisons across tested cohorts were not made. However, we showed that when applied in different settings, the poster gathered some consistent opinions on which behaviors are the best exemplars of naturalness in goats. Response bias, from opting for socially desirable responses, as well as sampling bias from using the tool at specific conferences or with specific demographics, could be an issue. Nonetheless, these are not unique concerns, and we suggest that corrections used in focus groups could alleviate these biases. The flexibility of this interactive tool, and its capability to shift the audience from viewing to participating in research presents a novel alternative to traditional poster presentations.

Analysis of the usage and diversity of grey literature in addiction research: a study

Purpose

The purpose of this study is twofold. First, the study shall evaluate the extent of usage of grey literature and its different types of addiction research. The second purpose of the research is to analyze the extent of usage of reports such as research reports, survey reports, data reports, etc. As the reports are produced in general by various organizations and can be accessed by not only academicians but also the general public, they play an important role in the dissemination of research to the people. Therefore, the study endeavored to identify the major organizations that are involved in the publishing of research reports in the field of addiction.

Design/methodology/approach

Scopus database was used for the purpose of collecting the data. References in the reference lists of the articles published in 2018 in the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors of the American Psychological Association were collected. Scopus indexes the references of the papers in two different categories, namely, indexed in scopus/scopus references and reference lists. They were then categorized as grey literature and non-grey literature. Further, reports were searched manually so that their producers/authors can be found and categorized according to the organizations.

Findings

The study found that grey literature comprises a very small proportion of citations in addiction research (just approximately 5 per cent). This suggests that the improper indexing and bibliographic control of grey literature may be one of the reasons behind the low numbers. Reports comprised the largest proportion of the grey literature cited in addiction research, followed by software documentation, unpublished manuscripts, guidebooks, handbooks, manuals, websites, government publications, etc. The reports of the US Department of Health and Human Services comprised the maximum citations in the reports category because of the reports produced by organizations like Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) which comprised 17.59 per cent of the total reports. National Institute of Health (USA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others. Other than the reports of the organizations of the USA, the reports published by the organizations of Canada, Australia, UK, New Zealand and one European Body were also cited by the articles of the journal.

Practical implications

The research focuses on the use of grey literature in addiction research. The findings of the study indicate very low citations to grey literature in addiction research. This reinforces the need for a separate worldwide information retrieval system for grey literature for researchers to conduct systematic reviews.

Originality/value

Very few studies have been conducted on the use of grey literature and hardly any research focuses on the use of grey literature in addiction research. The study goes one step further and identifies major organizations that are involved in the production of research reports in the field so that their reports can be properly indexed.

Grey literature citations in top nursing journals: a bibliometric study

Objective

As access to information grows in tandem with the growth of the Internet, access to grey literature also increases. Because little is known about the use of grey literature in nursing journals, the authors investigated the prevalence and types of grey literature citations in top nursing journals.

Methods

We analyzed all citations (n=52,116) from articles published in 2011 in 6 top nursing journals selected from the Medical Library Association’s Nursing and Allied Health Resource Section’s 2012 “Selected List of Nursing Journals.” Grey literature citations were identified and categorized by type.

Results

Grey literature accounted for 10.4% of citations across all 6 journals. Publications from governments (54.3%) and corporate organizations (26.8%) were the most common types of grey literature.

Conclusion

The substantial citation of grey literature in nursing journals shows that nursing scholars seek and use this category of information. These findings have implications for teaching and learning among nursing researchers and the information professionals who serve the nursing research community.

Knowledge Management in healthcare libraries: the current picture

Knowledge management has seen something of a resurgence in attention amongst health librarians recently. Of course it has never ceased to exist, but now many library staff are becoming more involved in organisational knowledge management, and positioning themselves as key players in the sphere. No single model of knowledge management is proliferating, but approaches that best fit the organisation's size, structure and culture, and a blending of evidence based practice and knowledge sharing. Whatever it is called and whatever models are used, it's clear that for librarians and information professionals, the importance of putting knowledge and evidence into practice, sharing knowledge well and capturing it effectively, are still what we will continue to do.