What every researcher should know about searching – clarified concepts, search advice, and an agenda to improve finding in academia

Abstract

We researchers have taken searching for information for granted for far too long. The COVID‐19 pandemic shows us the boundaries of academic searching capabilities, both in terms of our know‐how and of the systems we have. With hundreds of studies published daily on COVID‐19, for example, we struggle to find, stay up‐to‐date, and synthesize information—all hampering evidence‐informed decision making. This COVID‐19 information crisis is indicative of the broader problem of information overloaded academic research. To improve our finding capabilities, we urgently need to improve how we search and the systems we use.

Publication
Research Synthesis Methods