2.4.4 Peer Review of Search Strategies

While protocols undergo peer review at JBI, searchers may choose to have their search strategy independently reviewed, using a tool such as the Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies (PRESS) (McGowan et al. 2016). Additional peer review of search strategies can be done informally. It is a courtesy that the search peer reviewer be acknowledged in the acknowledgements section of the final paper. Similar to critical appraisal, peer reviewing of search strategies aims to detect errors, improve quality, and reduce the risk of missing relevant studies (too specific), as well as the risk of a search that is too broad, resulting in a large number of irrelevant results (too sensitive) (Lefebvre & Duffy 2019). When peer reviewing search strategies the following search elements should be considered: translation of the research question, Boolean and proximity operators, subject headings, text word searching, spelling, syntax, combining line numbers, limits and filters, and search strategy adaptations (McGowan et al. 2016; Relevo & Paynter 2012). Peer reviewing is best done at the protocol stage, so that any changes can be made to the search as needed prior to conducting the full search.