Question scans
From HLWIKI Canada
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IntroductionSee also Expert searching | Rapid evidence-assessments (REAs) | Snowballing What is a question scan?A question scan is an exploratory process used by some organizations such as the Canadian Council on Learning to gauge the volume of literature in a given field. The technique determines whether conducting more comprehensive, systematic reviews of the literature is feasible. The goal is to summarize major observations in a body of literature, although material identified is not yet appraised for its quality. Question scans include exploration of relevant databases using a broad range of applicable search terms, and a review of fugitive literature gathered from Canadian government, trade, professional organizations in the area. Several databases and fugitive literature websites are consulted for material relevant to the topics identified. Abstracts are evaluated to determine the relevance of the material to the question. Inclusion and exclusion criteria are applied; themes are identified from abstracts and summarized; a recommendation about the feasibility of further in-depth analysis is made. Although question scans are not exhaustive in their coverage, they are procedurally systematic and transparent. Librarians should maintain a ‘research diary’ documenting each search strategy including search terms, limiters and number of articles identified. Inclusion and exclusion criteria are documented and applied to the captured literature, and exclusion codes are applied to all documents not included for further review. Summary, themes, documentationQuestion scans include summaries identifying the number of articles meeting the inclusion criteria and general themes in the literature. Key studies and other reviews or meta-analyses are highlighted for each thematic category; results advanced by the authors are also summarized and research devoted to Canada is shown when possible. Finally, a judgment is made about the value and feasibility of undertaking a further systematic review devoted to the topic. For the purposes of transparency, references are included in the report’s bibliography. For reader convenience, abstracts normally accompany all references when they are available. See also
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