TY - JOUR
T1 - An online database and desktop assessment software to simplify systematic reviews in environmental science
AU - Webb, J. Angus
AU - Miller, Kimberly
AU - Stewardson, Michael
AU - De Little, Siobhan
AU - NICHOLS, Sue
AU - Wealands, Stephen
N1 - Funding Information:
We salute the pioneering efforts of the late Professor Richard Norris in the development of the Eco Evidence method. Development of the Eco Evidence software was funded by the eWater Cooperative Research Centre (projects B1 ‘Multiple drivers of river ecosystems’, R2 ‘Ecological modelling platform’, and ‘Ecological management’), with most of the programming for the Eco Evidence Analyser completed by Patrick Lea. This paper was funded by Australian Research Council project LP100200170 and the MDBfutures Collaborative Research Network project ‘Using an evidence-based approach in the optimisation of water allocation decisions’). Author contributions: J.A.W., M.J.S., S.J.N developed the Eco Evidence method. S.R.W. developed the Eco Evidence Database and the workflow therein, and contributed to programming of the Eco Evidence Analyser. J.A.W. led writing of the manuscript, with K.A.M. providing the case-study application of Eco-Evidence and S.C.dL providing the section on the Eco Evidence Database. All authors contributed to the final version.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Elsevier Ltd.
PY - 2015/2/1
Y1 - 2015/2/1
N2 - We describe software to facilitate systematic reviews in environmental science. Eco Evidence allows reviewers to draw strong conclusions from a collection of individually-weak studies. It consists of two components. An online database stores and shares the atomized findings of previously-published research. A desktop analysis tool synthesizes this evidence to test cause-effect hypotheses. The software produces a standardized report, maximizing transparency and repeatability. We illustrate evidence extraction and synthesis. Environmental research is hampered by the complexity of natural environments, and difficulty with performing experiments in such systems. Under these constraints, systematic syntheses of the rapidly-expanding literature can advance ecological understanding, inform environmental management, and identify knowledge gaps and priorities for future research. Eco Evidence, and in particular its online re-usable bank of evidence, reduces the workload involved in systematic reviews. This is the first systematic review software for environmental science, and opens the way for increased uptake of this powerful approach.
AB - We describe software to facilitate systematic reviews in environmental science. Eco Evidence allows reviewers to draw strong conclusions from a collection of individually-weak studies. It consists of two components. An online database stores and shares the atomized findings of previously-published research. A desktop analysis tool synthesizes this evidence to test cause-effect hypotheses. The software produces a standardized report, maximizing transparency and repeatability. We illustrate evidence extraction and synthesis. Environmental research is hampered by the complexity of natural environments, and difficulty with performing experiments in such systems. Under these constraints, systematic syntheses of the rapidly-expanding literature can advance ecological understanding, inform environmental management, and identify knowledge gaps and priorities for future research. Eco Evidence, and in particular its online re-usable bank of evidence, reduces the workload involved in systematic reviews. This is the first systematic review software for environmental science, and opens the way for increased uptake of this powerful approach.
KW - Eco evidence
KW - Environmental management
KW - Evidence-based practice
KW - Literature
KW - Software
KW - Systematic review
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84949115295&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.mendeley.com/research/online-database-desktop-assessment-software-simplify-systematic-reviews-environmental-science
U2 - 10.1016/j.envsoft.2014.11.011
DO - 10.1016/j.envsoft.2014.11.011
M3 - Article
SN - 1364-8152
VL - 64
SP - 72
EP - 79
JO - Environmental Modelling and Software
JF - Environmental Modelling and Software
IS - 4
ER -