Exploring the intersection of evidence synthesis and innovative technologies
The rate of production of new scientific evidence is increasing exponentially, making it hard to review all of this new information. This is an informal group of researchers and decision-makers with an interest in the use and development of technology in evidence syntheses (such as systematic reviews and maps). The group was initiated in 2017 and is soon developing.
|
What is evidence synthesis? |
Why do we need evidence synthesis? |
Evidence synthesis is the process of finding, summarising and communicating the balance of scientific evidence on a given topic. The science of evidence synthesis includes several widely used methods, including systematic maps and systematic reviews.
How can technology help?Computational methods can reduce the effort needed to synthesise large amounts of scientific information, potentially making research synthesis faster, cheaper, and more robust. However, new methods need detailed testing before these potential benefits can be realised.
|
Scientific studies are critical for helping people solve real-world problems, such as how best to treat medical conditions, or prevent damage to the environment. However, different studies sometimes come to slightly different conclusions. Evidence synthesis involves drawing these different results together to look for patterns in the evidence base to help understand and solve key questions in society.
Who are we?We are a group of interdisciplinary researchers specialising in systematic evidence synthesis. Our particular interest is improving the process of evidence synthesis using technological innovations such as text mining, natural language processing, machine learning, and data visualizations. See ABOUT for more information on our members.
|