About This Project
From WikiSR.openmedicine.ca
The challenge
The systematic review is a type of peer-reviewed publication that attempts to identify, select, assess and synthesize all original research evidence relevant to a specific question. Most systematic reviews have finite lifespans, with a median survival time (time from publication until availability of significant new information that potentially changes effect size or direction of the review) of 5.5 years from the time of publication; it has been estimated that for 23% of systematic reviews, significant new information is available within 2 years of publication [1]. Despite the need to keep reviews current, only 17.7% of systematic reviews seem to be cited as updated versions of previously published reviews [2,3].
The opportunity
The Internet presents a unique opportunity to explore new ways to update and publish academic research thanks to its open, transparent nature and the availability of free software for online collaboration. Wikis, in particular, are efficient tools for co-creating, maintaining and making widely available repositories of knowledge. In general, a wiki allows anyone to easily add to, edit or delete the content of a website. The wiki software keeps track of all changes and offers the ability to acknowledge author contributions. It has been suggested that some of the benefits of using a wiki for collaborative authoring include the ability to track authorship, monitor the development of an article and reduce conflicts of interests [4].
The project
This project explores the use of a wiki as an online collaborative tool for improving and updating peer-reviewed systematic reviews. Posted on this wiki is a copy of the article “Asynchronous telehealth: A scoping review of analytic studies.” Readers are invited to edit the article by adding to, deleting or modifying its contents. This scoping review was funded by Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology in Health (CADTH) and completed by Foresights Links. Another version with the same findings was originally published in 2006 by CADTH.
Your contribution
You can participate in the update of this review by editing or adding any content, including adding new studies or reports. This wiki will be available until March 31, 2010. The results of this project will be made available on the Open Medicine website soon after that date.
Wiki editorial policies
To contribute to this wiki, you must log in, provide your name and affiliation and complete a competing interests statement. Anonymous editing will not be permitted.
Please read the Open Medicine editorial Medical research and social media: Can wikis be used as a publishing platform in medicine? for a full description of our editorial policies with regard to wikis. These policies have been developed with reference to the principles of authorship, peer review and competing interests of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).
The project team
Open Medicine http://www.openmedicine.ca/
Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies for Health (CADTH) http://www.cadth.ca/
People, Health Equity and Innovation Group (PHI Group) http://www.ehealthinnovation.org/?q=node/10
References
1. Shojania, K.G., et al., How quickly do systematic reviews go out of date? A survival analysis. Ann Intern Med, 2007. 147(4): p. 224-33.
2. Moher, D., et al., Epidemiology and reporting characteristics of systematic reviews. PLoS Med, 2007. 4(3): p. e78.
3. Piehl, J.H., S. Green, and S. McDonald, Converting systematic reviews to Cochrane format: a cross-sectional survey of Australian authors of systematic reviews. BMC Health Serv Res, 2003. 3(1): p. 2.
4. Schmidt, J. Flexibility in wiki publishing: author desires, peer review and citation. 2005 [cited 2008 March 23]; Available from: http://academia.wikia.com/wiki/Flexibility_in_wiki_publishing:_author_desires%2C_peer_review_and_citation.
