Validity and Reliability of a Systematic Database Search Strategy to Identify Publications Resulting From Pharmacy Residency Research Projects.

Purpose: This study aims to develop a systematic search strategy and test its validity and reliability in terms of identifying projects published in peer-reviewed journals as reported by residency graduates through an online survey.

Methods: This study was a prospective blind comparison to a reference standard. Pharmacy residency projects conducted at the study institution between 2001 and 2012 were included. A step-wise, systematic procedure containing up to 8 search strategies in PubMed and EMBASE for each project was created using the names of authors and abstract keywords. In order to further maximize sensitivity, complex phrases with multiple variations were truncated to the root word. Validity was assessed by obtaining information on publications from an online survey deployed to residency graduates.

Results: The search strategy identified 13 publications (93% sensitivity, 100% specificity, and 99% accuracy). Both methods identified a similar proportion achieving publication (19.7% search strategy vs 21.2% survey, P = 1.00). Reliability of the search strategy was affirmed by the perfect agreement between 2 investigators (k = 1.00).

Conclusion: This systematic search strategy demonstrated a high sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for identifying publications resulting from pharmacy residency projects using information available in residency conference abstracts.