title: Validity and Reliability of a Systematic Database Search Strategy to Identify Publications Resulting From Pharmacy Residency Research Projects.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy Services, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA amynhk@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Namhee
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kwak
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy Services, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX, USA Center for Outcomes Research, Department of Surgery, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Joshua T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Swan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy Services, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Nathaniel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Thompson-Moore
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy Services, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Michael G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Liebl
mesh_terms: D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D000070838:Pharmacy Research / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D064172:Pharmacy Residencies / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011642:Publications / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013223:Statistics as Topic / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards
keywords: pharmacy education; pharmacy residency; publications; research