SyROCCo: Enhancing Systematic Reviews using Machine Learning

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Fang, Zheng, Arana-Catania, Miguel, van Lier, Felix-Anselm, Velarde, Juliana Outes, Bregazzi, Harry, Airoldi, Mara, Carter, Eleanor, Procter, Rob
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Fang, Zheng
Arana-Catania, Miguel
van Lier, Felix-Anselm
Velarde, Juliana Outes
Bregazzi, Harry
Airoldi, Mara
Carter, Eleanor
Procter, Rob
author_facet Fang, Zheng
Arana-Catania, Miguel
van Lier, Felix-Anselm
Velarde, Juliana Outes
Bregazzi, Harry
Airoldi, Mara
Carter, Eleanor
Procter, Rob
contents The sheer number of research outputs published every year makes systematic reviewing increasingly time- and resource-intensive. This paper explores the use of machine learning techniques to help navigate the systematic review process. ML has previously been used to reliably 'screen' articles for review - that is, identify relevant articles based on reviewers' inclusion criteria. The application of ML techniques to subsequent stages of a review, however, such as data extraction and evidence mapping, is in its infancy. We therefore set out to develop a series of tools that would assist in the profiling and analysis of 1,952 publications on the theme of 'outcomes-based contracting'. Tools were developed for the following tasks: assign publications into 'policy area' categories; identify and extract key information for evidence mapping, such as organisations, laws, and geographical information; connect the evidence base to an existing dataset on the same topic; and identify subgroups of articles that may share thematic content. An interactive tool using these techniques and a public dataset with their outputs have been released. Our results demonstrate the utility of ML techniques to enhance evidence accessibility and analysis within the systematic review processes. These efforts show promise in potentially yielding substantial efficiencies for future systematic reviewing and for broadening their analytical scope. Our work suggests that there may be implications for the ease with which policymakers and practitioners can access evidence. While ML techniques seem poised to play a significant role in bridging the gap between research and policy by offering innovative ways of gathering, accessing, and analysing data from systematic reviews, we also highlight their current limitations and the need to exercise caution in their application, particularly given the potential for errors and biases.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2406_16527
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle SyROCCo: Enhancing Systematic Reviews using Machine Learning
Fang, Zheng
Arana-Catania, Miguel
van Lier, Felix-Anselm
Velarde, Juliana Outes
Bregazzi, Harry
Airoldi, Mara
Carter, Eleanor
Procter, Rob
Computation and Language
Computers and Society
Digital Libraries
Machine Learning
The sheer number of research outputs published every year makes systematic reviewing increasingly time- and resource-intensive. This paper explores the use of machine learning techniques to help navigate the systematic review process. ML has previously been used to reliably 'screen' articles for review - that is, identify relevant articles based on reviewers' inclusion criteria. The application of ML techniques to subsequent stages of a review, however, such as data extraction and evidence mapping, is in its infancy. We therefore set out to develop a series of tools that would assist in the profiling and analysis of 1,952 publications on the theme of 'outcomes-based contracting'. Tools were developed for the following tasks: assign publications into 'policy area' categories; identify and extract key information for evidence mapping, such as organisations, laws, and geographical information; connect the evidence base to an existing dataset on the same topic; and identify subgroups of articles that may share thematic content. An interactive tool using these techniques and a public dataset with their outputs have been released. Our results demonstrate the utility of ML techniques to enhance evidence accessibility and analysis within the systematic review processes. These efforts show promise in potentially yielding substantial efficiencies for future systematic reviewing and for broadening their analytical scope. Our work suggests that there may be implications for the ease with which policymakers and practitioners can access evidence. While ML techniques seem poised to play a significant role in bridging the gap between research and policy by offering innovative ways of gathering, accessing, and analysing data from systematic reviews, we also highlight their current limitations and the need to exercise caution in their application, particularly given the potential for errors and biases.
title SyROCCo: Enhancing Systematic Reviews using Machine Learning
topic Computation and Language
Computers and Society
Digital Libraries
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.16527