A. Benjamin Chong edited section_Introduction_Scanning_journal_abstracts__.tex  almost 9 years ago

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\section{Introduction}  Scanning journal abstracts allows clinicians to quickly determine the relevance of a particular article to their clinical practice (Fleming, 2013). The abstract should be written clearly and sufficiently detailed such that clinicians can decide whether to read on if the article is in hand or to download an electronic version for further reading (Hopewell, 2008). A recent study found that users of biomedical literature that searched PubMed predominately viewed abstracts exclusively after reviewing titles returned from their searches. These abstract views were well over two times as likely as full-text views \cite{20157491}. However, despite the importance of abstracts to convey essential information to users of research, clear and comprehensive reporting of core study aspects remains an issue. In an effort to address concerns about the quality and clarity of abstract reporting in clinical trials, the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trial (CONSORT) group developed a minimum set of essential information for inclusion in an abstract (Hopewell, 2008). Since the CONSORT abstract extension was published in 2008, some improvement in abstract reporting has been noted but still remains an issue (Can 2011). 2011)\cite{Can_2011}.  More recently, systematic reviews have played a growing role in decision making for clinic practice. While allowing biomedical literature users access to a higher quality of evidence, systematic reviews are still hampered by issues in the quality of abstract reporting (Beller, 2011). This prompted the release of an extension of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement that detailed a checklist of essential items to include in a systematic review abstract.