Applying methodological search filters to CAB Abstracts to identify research for evidence-based veterinary medicine

Objective: The study sought to determine whether methodological search strategies identified by Haynes et al. as most effective for locating information for evidence-based medicine in MEDLINE would be effective in locating information in CAB Abstracts for evidence-based veterinary medicine. Methods: Articles published in the year 2000 volumes of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association and Veterinary Record were manually examined and classified by format (original study, review, general article, conference report, decision analysis, case report) and purpose category (etiology, prognosis, diagnosis, and treatment or prevention). Search strategies identified by Haynes et al. were then modified and run on the CAB Abstracts database. Sensitivity and specificity were determined by comparing results to the manual review of the literature. Results: The author manually reviewed 390 articles, 289 articles of which were identified as original studies. Overall, the sensitivity and specificity of the search strategies were disappointing. Discussion: The methodological search strategies developed by Haynes et al. for MEDLINE were not effective in locating literature for evidence-based veterinary practice in CAB Abstracts. A study examining methodological search strategies for identifying research for evidence-based veterinary practice in the CAB Abstracts database is necessary.