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5029236 
Book/Book Chapter 
Chapter 4: Gathering data : searching literature and selection criteria 
Côté, IMl Curtis, PS; Rothstein, HR; Stewart, GB 
2013 
Princeton University Press 
Princeton, NJ 
Handbook of Meta-analysis in Ecology and Evolution 
English 
is part of a larger document 5029185 Handbook of Meta-analysis in Ecology and Evolution
There is an important relationship between how thorough and unbiased the search for relevant data is and the validity of the resulting meta-analysis. Many reviewers fail to uncover citations to documents relevant to their project because of inadequate search tools or strategies. This chapter covers literature searching and information retrieval, as well as the application of study selection (inclusion) criteria. Best practices include carrying out an initial scoping study to assess how much literature is available and whether a systematic review and meta-analysis are possible; developing an explicit search protocol which details exactly how you will go about searching the literature; and outlining clear study selection criteria so that the reasons for inclusion or exclusion of studies are transparent.