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Research Reference · 217 Terms

Research Glossary

A concise A–Z reference for the terminology you encounter across research methods, statistics, academic publishing, open science, and scholarly communication.

Showing 217 of 217 terms
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A

Absence of Evidence

Also known as: Lack of evidence; Insufficient evidence
A condition in which available research does not provide adequate evidence to establish whether a specified effect, relationship, or phenomenon is present or absent.
Related guides: How to Write a Literature Review That Synthesizes

Abstract and Citation Database

Also known as: Abstract and citation database
A bibliographic database that indexes publication abstracts and references between scholarly works to support literature discovery and citation analysis.
Related guides: Scopus vs. Web of Science vs. Google Scholar

Acceptability

Also known as: Study acceptability; Intervention acceptability
The extent to which research procedures, interventions, or participation requirements are considered suitable or tolerable by the people expected to participate in, deliver, or support them.
Related guides: Is This Study Actually Feasible? · From Research Idea to Research Plan

Allocation Concealment

Also known as: Concealment of allocation; Allocation sequence concealment
A procedure that prevents those enrolling participants in a study from knowing upcoming treatment or group assignments before allocation occurs.
Related guides: How to Critically Evaluate a Research Paper

Alternative Hypothesis

In statistical hypothesis testing, the proposition that a specified difference, association, or effect exists, considered in contrast to the null hypothesis.
Related guides: Questions, Objectives, and Hypotheses

Applied Research

Also known as: Applied research
Research oriented toward solving, informing, or addressing a practical problem or need.
Related guides: Choosing a Research Approach

Author Alert

Also known as: Author monitoring; Researcher alert; Researcher monitoring
A notification or monitoring method used to identify newly indexed or published works associated with a specified researcher or author.
Related guides: How to Find the Latest Research

B

Basic Research

Also known as: Basic research; Fundamental research
Research primarily oriented toward developing fundamental knowledge or understanding rather than addressing an immediate practical problem.
Related guides: Choosing a Research Approach

Bibliographic Exchange Format

Also known as: Reference exchange format; Bibliographic interchange format
A structured file format used to transfer bibliographic records between reference-management systems, databases, or other scholarly tools.
Related guides: How to Use Reference Managers Effectively

Bibliographic Record

Also known as: Reference record; Citation record
A structured database record containing descriptive information about a scholarly source and, where supported, related notes, identifiers, links, or files.
Related guides: How to Use Reference Managers Effectively

Bibliometrics

Also known as: Bibliometric analysis; Bibliometric research
The quantitative analysis of scholarly publications, citations, authorship, and related metadata to examine patterns in research activity and influence.
Related guides: Scopus vs. Web of Science vs. Google Scholar

BibTeX

Also known as: BibTeX format
A text-based bibliographic data format used to store and exchange reference information, particularly in workflows involving TeX or LaTeX.
Related guides: How to Use Reference Managers Effectively

Blinding

Also known as: Masking
The concealment of assigned interventions, exposures, or other study information from participants, researchers, outcome assessors, analysts, or other parties to reduce the risk that this knowledge influences study conduct or assessment.
Related guides: How to Critically Evaluate a Research Paper

C

Causal Inference

Also known as: Causal inference
The process of drawing conclusions about whether a change in one factor causes a change in another, based on a research design and assumptions capable of supporting a causal interpretation.
Related guides: How to Write a Good Research Question · Questions, Objectives, and Hypotheses · Scope and Delimitations of Research · Choosing a Research Approach · From Research Idea to Research Plan · How to Read a Research Paper Efficiently · How to Critically Evaluate a Research Paper

Citation Alert

Also known as: Citation monitoring; Cited-by alert
A notification that identifies new citing activity associated with a selected scholarly work or other indexed item.
Related guides: How to Find the Latest Research

Citation Analysis

Also known as: Citation analysis
The analysis of citation relationships or counts to examine how scholarly works, authors, sources, or bodies of research are connected or referenced.
Related guides: Scopus vs. Web of Science vs. Google Scholar

Citation Context

Also known as: Citation context analysis
The textual context surrounding a citation that indicates how and why a cited work is being referenced.
Related guides: How to Find Seminal Papers

Citation Field

Also known as: Citation code; Active citation field; Citation field code
Embedded document data created by citation software that links an in-text citation or bibliography entry to its managed reference information so it can be updated or reformatted.
Related guides: How to Use Reference Managers Effectively

Citation Plugin

Also known as: Citation add-in; Word-processor integration; Writing integration
Software that connects a reference manager with a word processor or writing application to insert, update, and format managed citations and bibliographies.
Related guides: How to Use Reference Managers Effectively

Citation Style

Also known as: Reference style; Bibliographic style
A set of rules governing how citations and bibliographic references are formatted and ordered in scholarly writing.
Related guides: How to Use Reference Managers Effectively

Citation Style Language

Also known as: CSL
A structured language used to define citation and bibliography formatting rules for compatible reference-management and publishing software.
Related guides: How to Use Reference Managers Effectively

CiteScore

Also known as: CiteScore metric
A Scopus-based journal metric that summarizes citations received by documents in a publication over a defined calculation period.
Related guides: Scopus vs. Web of Science vs. Google Scholar

Concept Group

Also known as: Search concept group; Concept block
A set of alternative search terms representing the same underlying concept within a structured search strategy.
Related guides: How to Search Academic Databases

Conflict of Interest

Also known as: Competing interest; Competing interests; COI
A relationship, activity, or interest that could be perceived to influence a researcher's professional judgment, decisions, conduct, or reporting.
Related guides: How to Critically Evaluate a Research Paper

D

Data Extraction

Also known as: Study data extraction; Evidence extraction
The structured process of collecting predefined information from studies or other sources included in a review or evidence synthesis.
Related guides: Narrative vs. Systematic vs. Scoping Reviews

Data Management

Also known as: Research data management; RDM
The planning and handling of research data across their lifecycle, including collection or acquisition, documentation, storage, processing, access, protection, preservation, sharing, and disposition.
Related guides: From Research Idea to Research Plan

Data Management Plan

Also known as: DMP; Data management and sharing plan; DMS plan
A documented plan describing how research data will be managed, protected, documented, stored, preserved, shared, or disposed of during and after a research project.
Related guides: From Research Idea to Research Plan

Database Accession Number

Also known as: Accession number; Database identifier
A unique identifier assigned by a database or information system to a record within that system.
Related guides: How to Do a Literature Search

De-identification

Also known as: Deidentification; Data de-identification
The process of removing or modifying identifying information in data to reduce the likelihood that individuals can be identified.
Related guides: From Research Idea to Research Plan

Delimitation

Also known as: Research delimitation; Study delimitation; Delimitations
A boundary deliberately established by the researcher to define or narrow what a study includes or excludes.
Related guides: Scope and Delimitations of Research

Diminishing Returns

Also known as: Diminishing informational returns; Declining informational return
A condition in which additional searching, data collection, or other research effort yields progressively less new or decision-relevant information.
Related guides: When to Stop Your Literature Search

Directional Hypothesis

Also known as: Directional research hypothesis
A hypothesis that predicts both the existence and the direction of a relationship, difference, or effect.
Related guides: Questions, Objectives, and Hypotheses

E

Evidence Map

Also known as: Evidence mapping
A structured overview that organizes and displays the amount, characteristics, and distribution of available evidence across a research area.
Related guides: How to Find a Research Gap

Evidence Mapping

Also known as: Mapping the evidence; Evidence map
The systematic organization and characterization of available evidence across dimensions such as topics, populations, methods, interventions, outcomes, or research gaps.
Related guides: Narrative vs. Systematic vs. Scoping Reviews

Evidence of Absence

Also known as: Evidence for no effect; Evidence supporting absence
Evidence that supports the conclusion that a specified effect, relationship, or phenomenon is absent or sufficiently small under the conditions examined.
Related guides: How to Write a Literature Review That Synthesizes

Experimental Research

Also known as: Experimental study; Experimental design
Research in which an intervention, exposure, or condition is deliberately assigned or manipulated according to the study design to evaluate its effects.
Related guides: Choosing a Research Approach

External Validity

Also known as: Applicability
The extent to which a study's findings can be appropriately applied beyond the specific conditions, participants, settings, or observations examined.
Related guides: How to Critically Evaluate a Research Paper

F

Feasibility

Also known as: Research feasibility; Study feasibility
The extent to which a proposed study can be conducted successfully within its practical, methodological, ethical, and resource constraints.
Related guides: How to Choose a Research Topic · How to Identify a Research Problem · How to Find a Research Gap · How to Write a Good Research Question · Questions, Objectives, and Hypotheses · Is My Research Idea Original Enough? · Is This Study Actually Feasible? · Scope and Delimitations of Research · Choosing a Research Approach · From Research Idea to Research Plan · Narrative vs. Systematic vs. Scoping Reviews

Feasibility Assessment

Also known as: Feasibility assessment during planning
A structured evaluation of whether a proposed study can realistically be conducted, using available information, estimates, consultation, and verification of critical requirements.
Related guides: Is This Study Actually Feasible?

Field Code

Also known as: Search field code; Database field code
A database-specific code or label used to restrict a search to a particular bibliographic field.
Related guides: How to Search Academic Databases

Foundational Paper

Also known as: Seminal paper; Foundational study; Seminal study; Landmark paper; Key paper
A scholarly work regarded as having introduced, established, or substantially shaped an important idea, theory, method, finding, or research direction.
Related guides: How to Find Seminal Papers · How to Find the Latest Research · How to Read a Research Paper Efficiently · How to Organize Your Literature Review · How to Write a Literature Review That Synthesizes · When to Stop Your Literature Search

G

Group Library

Also known as: Shared library; Collaborative reference library
A reference-management library designed to allow multiple users to access or manage a shared collection of bibliographic records and related materials.
Related guides: How to Use Reference Managers Effectively

H

I

Informed Consent

Also known as: Research informed consent
A process through which a prospective research participant receives and understands relevant information about a study and voluntarily agrees to participate.
Related guides: From Research Idea to Research Plan

Internal Validity

Also known as: Study validity
The extent to which a study's design, conduct, and analysis support a credible conclusion about the question examined within the study conditions.
Related guides: How to Critically Evaluate a Research Paper

J

Journal Alert

Also known as: Journal monitoring; Table-of-contents alert; TOC alert
A notification service that reports newly released content from a specified journal or publication source.
Related guides: How to Find the Latest Research

K

L

Linked File

Also known as: Linked attachment; Linked-file attachment
A file associated with a reference-manager record by a link to its existing storage location rather than by copying the file into the reference manager's managed storage.
Related guides: How to Use Reference Managers Effectively

Literature Monitoring

Also known as: Research monitoring; Literature surveillance
The ongoing, structured process of identifying newly available research relevant to a defined topic, question, source, author, or body of literature.
Related guides: How to Find the Latest Research

Literature Saturation

Also known as: Search saturation; Literature search saturation; Conceptual saturation in literature searching
An informal point in a purpose-driven literature search at which additional searching or reading produces little genuinely new conceptual or interpretive information.
Related guides: When to Stop Your Literature Search

Literature Synthesis

Also known as: Research synthesis; Synthesis of the literature
The integration and interpretation of findings, concepts, methods, or arguments across multiple sources to explain patterns, relationships, disagreements, or gaps in a body of literature.
Related guides: How to Organize Your Literature Review · How to Use Reference Managers Effectively · How to Write a Literature Review That Synthesizes · When to Stop Your Literature Search · Narrative vs. Systematic vs. Scoping Reviews

M

Medical Subject Headings

Also known as: MeSH
The National Library of Medicine's controlled vocabulary used to index and search biomedical and health-related literature.
Related guides: How to Do a Literature Search

Methodological Novelty

Also known as: Methodological innovation
Novelty arising from a new or improved research method that meaningfully changes how evidence is obtained, measured, analyzed, or interpreted.
Related guides: Is My Research Idea Original Enough?

Misclassification

Also known as: Classification error; Misclassification error
The incorrect classification of a participant, observation, exposure, outcome, or other variable into a category different from its true or intended category.
Related guides: How to Critically Evaluate a Research Paper

Mixed Methods Integration

Also known as: Integration; Mixed methods integration
The deliberate connection of quantitative and qualitative components within a mixed methods study so that their combined use contributes to answering the research question.
Related guides: Choosing a Research Approach · From Research Idea to Research Plan

My NCBI

Also known as: MyNCBI
An NCBI account-based service that provides personalized functions such as saving searches and configuring automatic updates for supported NCBI databases.
Related guides: How to Find the Latest Research

N

Non-Directional Hypothesis

Also known as: Nondirectional hypothesis; Non-directional research hypothesis
A hypothesis that predicts the existence of a relationship, difference, or effect without specifying its direction.
Related guides: Questions, Objectives, and Hypotheses

Null Hypothesis

Also known as: Null hypothesis
In statistical hypothesis testing, the proposition that a specified difference, association, or effect is absent at the population level under the statistical model being tested.
Related guides: Questions, Objectives, and Hypotheses

O

Operator Precedence

Also known as: Search operator precedence; Order of operations
The rules determining the order in which a search system evaluates multiple logical operators when a query does not explicitly override that order.
Related guides: How to Search Academic Databases

ORCID

Also known as: Open Researcher and Contributor ID
A persistent identifier system that distinguishes researchers and connects them with their scholarly activities and records.
Related guides: How to Find the Latest Research

Outcome

Also known as: Outcome variable; Outcome measure
A result, event, response, or characteristic measured to assess what occurs in relation to an exposure, intervention, or other factor under investigation.
Related guides: How to Choose a Research Topic · How to Find a Research Gap · How to Write a Good Research Question · Questions, Objectives, and Hypotheses · Is This Study Actually Feasible? · Scope and Delimitations of Research · Choosing a Research Approach · From Research Idea to Research Plan · How to Read a Research Paper Efficiently

P

P-Value

Also known as: p value; p-value
Under a specified statistical model, the probability of obtaining a result at least as incompatible with the null hypothesis as the observed result, assuming the null hypothesis and model assumptions are true.
Related guides: How to Critically Evaluate a Research Paper

Path Dependence

Also known as: Path-dependent search; Search path dependence
The tendency for the information discovered through an iterative search process to depend partly on the starting points and sequence of prior search choices.
Related guides: Finding Research With Citation Chaining

Post Hoc Hypothesis

Also known as: Post-hoc hypothesis; Data-generated hypothesis
A hypothesis formulated after examining relevant data or results rather than specified before the analysis.
Related guides: Questions, Objectives, and Hypotheses

Practical Significance

Also known as: Practical importance; Clinical significance; Scientific importance
The extent to which the magnitude of a research finding is meaningful or consequential in a relevant scientific, clinical, policy, practical, or decision-making context.
Related guides: How to Critically Evaluate a Research Paper

Prespecified Hypothesis

Also known as: Pre-specified hypothesis; A priori hypothesis
A hypothesis specified before examining the relevant study results or conducting the analysis intended to test it.
Related guides: Questions, Objectives, and Hypotheses

PRESS Guideline

Also known as: PRESS; Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies
A structured guideline for peer review of electronic literature-search strategies.
Related guides: How to Do a Literature Search

Primary Research

Also known as: Primary empirical research
Research that generates or analyzes empirical evidence from participants, observations, experiments, records, datasets, documents, specimens, or other sources to answer a research question.
Related guides: Choosing a Research Approach

PRISMA

Also known as: PRISMA 2020; Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses
A reporting guideline that specifies recommended information for transparent reporting of systematic reviews and related evidence syntheses.
Related guides: Narrative vs. Systematic vs. Scoping Reviews

Problem Statement

Also known as: Research problem statement
A concise statement that identifies the issue or uncertainty requiring investigation, establishes its significance, and provides the rationale for research.
Related guides: How to Identify a Research Problem

Progression Criteria

Also known as: Predefined progression criteria; Go/no-go criteria
Predefined criteria used to determine whether a study or development process should proceed, be modified, or stop based on feasibility findings.
Related guides: Is This Study Actually Feasible?

Protocol-Driven Evidence Search

Also known as: Protocol-driven search; Method-driven evidence search
A literature search conducted according to prespecified methodological requirements, with its scope, procedures, and stopping determined by the review protocol or applicable review method.
Related guides: When to Stop Your Literature Search

Pseudonymization

Also known as: Pseudonymisation; Data pseudonymization
The processing of identifiable data so that they cannot be attributed to a specific individual without additional information that is kept separately.
Related guides: From Research Idea to Research Plan

Publication Type

Also known as: Article type; Document type
A classification describing the form or research function of a scholarly publication, such as an empirical study, review, protocol, or commentary.
Related guides: How to Read a Research Paper Efficiently

Purpose-Driven Literature Search

Also known as: Purpose-driven search; Purpose-driven literature searching
A literature search conducted to identify and understand enough relevant scholarship to support a defined research or scholarly task, with adequacy judged in relation to that purpose.
Related guides: When to Stop Your Literature Search

Q

R

Random Error

Also known as: Sampling error; Random variation
Variation arising from chance sampling or measurement processes that creates uncertainty around an estimate without necessarily producing systematic deviation in one direction.
Related guides: How to Critically Evaluate a Research Paper

Randomized Controlled Trial

Also known as: Randomised controlled trial; Randomized trial; RCT
An experimental study in which participants or other units are assigned to intervention or comparison groups using a random allocation process.
Related guides: How to Critically Evaluate a Research Paper

Reference Library

Also known as: Bibliographic library; Reference-management library
An organized collection of bibliographic records and associated research materials maintained within a reference-management system.
Related guides: How to Use Reference Managers Effectively

Related-Article Searching

Also known as: Related articles; Similar-article searching; Related-paper searching
A literature-discovery method that identifies publications judged similar or related to a known work using relationships or similarity methods other than direct citation links.
Related guides: Finding Research With Citation Chaining

Research Aim

Also known as: Study aim; Aim
A statement of the broad overall purpose or intent of a study, sometimes used interchangeably with research objective.
Related guides: Questions, Objectives, and Hypotheses

Research Analytics

Also known as: Research analysis; Research analytics
The use of structured research information and quantitative indicators to examine research activity, output, collaboration, visibility, or influence.
Related guides: Scopus vs. Web of Science vs. Google Scholar

Research Contribution

Also known as: Contribution; Scholarly contribution
The addition a study makes to existing knowledge, theory, methodology, practice, policy, or understanding.
Related guides: Is My Research Idea Original Enough?

Research Gap

Also known as: Knowledge gap
An unresolved question, inconsistency, limitation, or area of insufficient knowledge in existing evidence that indicates something remains unknown or inadequately understood.
Related guides: How to Choose a Research Topic · How to Identify a Research Problem · How to Find a Research Gap · Is My Research Idea Original Enough? · How to Do a Literature Search · How to Organize Your Literature Review · How to Write a Literature Review That Synthesizes

Research Need

A research gap for which obtaining additional evidence could produce information useful for knowledge, practice, policy, or decision-making.
Related guides: How to Find a Research Gap

Research Originality

Also known as: Originality; Research originality
The extent to which research makes a distinct contribution relative to existing knowledge rather than merely reproducing what is already adequately established.
Related guides: Is My Research Idea Original Enough?

Research Plan

Also known as: Study plan
A structured description of how a research question will be investigated, connecting the question and objectives to the evidence, design, methods, analysis, ethics, resources, timeline, risks, and expected outputs.
Related guides: From Research Idea to Research Plan

Research Question

Also known as: RQ
A focused, answerable question that specifies what a study seeks to investigate.
Related guides: How to Choose a Research Topic · How to Identify a Research Problem · How to Find a Research Gap · How to Write a Good Research Question · Questions, Objectives, and Hypotheses · Is My Research Idea Original Enough? · Is This Study Actually Feasible? · Scope and Delimitations of Research · Choosing a Research Approach · From Research Idea to Research Plan · How to Do a Literature Search · How to Search Academic Databases · How to Read a Research Paper Efficiently · How to Organize Your Literature Review · When to Stop Your Literature Search · Narrative vs. Systematic vs. Scoping Reviews

Residual Confounding

Also known as: Uncontrolled confounding
Confounding that remains after adjustment because relevant confounders were unmeasured, inadequately measured, incompletely modeled, or otherwise insufficiently controlled.
Related guides: How to Critically Evaluate a Research Paper

RIS

Also known as: RIS format; Research Information Systems format
A tagged text format used to exchange bibliographic records among databases, reference managers, and other scholarly information systems.
Related guides: How to Use Reference Managers Effectively

Risk Management

Also known as: Research risk management; Project risk management
The systematic identification, assessment, and planning of responses to uncertainties that could threaten the conduct, completion, or integrity of a research project.
Related guides: From Research Idea to Research Plan

RoB 2

Also known as: Risk of Bias 2; Cochrane Risk of Bias 2
A Cochrane tool for assessing risk of bias in randomized trials across specified domains of study design, conduct, analysis, and reporting.
Related guides: How to Critically Evaluate a Research Paper

ROBINS-I

Also known as: Risk Of Bias In Non-randomized Studies - of Interventions
A Cochrane tool for assessing risk of bias in non-randomized studies of interventions across specified domains.
Related guides: How to Critically Evaluate a Research Paper

S

Search Coverage

Also known as: Literature coverage; Search coverage adequacy
The extent to which a literature search has identified and represented the relevant evidence, concepts, sources, perspectives, or portions of a research literature required for its purpose.
Related guides: When to Stop Your Literature Search

Search Filter

Also known as: Filter; Search limit; Search limits
A restriction applied to search results or a search strategy based on record characteristics such as date, language, publication type, or population.
Related guides: How to Do a Literature Search

Search Precision

Also known as: Precision of a search; Retrieval precision
The proportion of retrieved records that are relevant to the information need.
Related guides: How to Do a Literature Search

Search Sensitivity

Also known as: Sensitivity of a search; Retrieval sensitivity; Recall
The proportion of all relevant records in the searchable set that a search successfully retrieves.
Related guides: How to Do a Literature Search

Search Stopping Criterion

Also known as: Stopping criterion; Search stopping rule; Stopping rule
A condition or rule used to determine when further searching is no longer required for the purpose or methodology of a literature search.
Related guides: When to Stop Your Literature Search

Search Strategy

Also known as: Search query; Search string
A documented combination of concepts, terms, operators, fields, limits, and other search instructions used to retrieve information from a search system.
Related guides: How to Do a Literature Search · Scopus vs. Web of Science vs. Google Scholar · How to Search Academic Databases · Finding Research With Citation Chaining · How to Find the Latest Research · How to Organize Your Literature Review · When to Stop Your Literature Search · Narrative vs. Systematic vs. Scoping Reviews

Search Strategy Translation

Also known as: Search translation; Database search translation
The adaptation of a search strategy's syntax and database-specific features while preserving its underlying concepts and search logic across different search systems.
Related guides: How to Search Academic Databases · How to Find the Latest Research

Secondary Citation

Also known as: Indirect citation; Secondary source citation
The citation or description of an original source based on another source's account of it rather than direct examination of the original work.
Related guides: How to Write a Literature Review That Synthesizes

Selective Reporting

Also known as: Selective outcome reporting; Selective reporting bias
The selective presentation or emphasis of research outcomes, analyses, time points, subgroups, or results based on their findings or other post hoc considerations.
Related guides: How to Critically Evaluate a Research Paper

Source Indexing

Also known as: Database indexing; Indexed source; Indexing status
The inclusion and representation of a publication source or its content within a bibliographic or citation database according to that system's indexing practices.
Related guides: Scopus vs. Web of Science vs. Google Scholar

SPIDER Framework

Also known as: SPIDER
A framework developed for qualitative and mixed-methods evidence synthesis that structures a question or search strategy around Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, and Research type.
Related guides: How to Write a Good Research Question

Statistical Pooling

Also known as: Pooling; Quantitative pooling; Pooled analysis
The statistical combination of quantitative results from multiple studies to produce a summary estimate or other combined analysis.
Related guides: Narrative vs. Systematic vs. Scoping Reviews

Study Characteristics Table

Also known as: Characteristics-of-studies table; Study characteristics table
A table that presents selected descriptive characteristics of studies included in a literature review or evidence synthesis.
Related guides: How to Write a Literature Review That Synthesizes

Study Design

Also known as: Research design
The overall methodological structure and strategy used to answer a research question.
Related guides: How to Choose a Research Topic · How to Identify a Research Problem · How to Find a Research Gap · How to Write a Good Research Question · Questions, Objectives, and Hypotheses · Is My Research Idea Original Enough? · Is This Study Actually Feasible? · Scope and Delimitations of Research · Choosing a Research Approach · From Research Idea to Research Plan · How to Read a Research Paper Efficiently · How to Critically Evaluate a Research Paper · How to Organize Your Literature Review

Study Population

Also known as: Research population; Population
The defined group of individuals, units, or cases about which a study seeks to obtain evidence or draw conclusions.
Related guides: How to Choose a Research Topic · How to Identify a Research Problem · How to Find a Research Gap · How to Write a Good Research Question · Questions, Objectives, and Hypotheses · Is My Research Idea Original Enough? · Is This Study Actually Feasible? · Scope and Delimitations of Research · Choosing a Research Approach · From Research Idea to Research Plan · How to Read a Research Paper Efficiently · How to Critically Evaluate a Research Paper · How to Organize Your Literature Review

Study Selection

Also known as: Study screening; Evidence selection
The process of determining which identified studies or records meet predefined criteria for inclusion in a review or evidence synthesis.
Related guides: Narrative vs. Systematic vs. Scoping Reviews

Supplementary Material

Also known as: Supplementary materials; Supplemental material; Supporting information
Additional content provided with a scholarly publication that supports or extends the main article, such as detailed methods, data, analyses, figures, tables, or appendices.
Related guides: How to Read a Research Paper Efficiently

Synchronization

Also known as: Sync; Data synchronization; Library synchronization
The process of keeping designated data or files consistent across devices, accounts, or services by propagating changes among synchronized copies.
Related guides: How to Use Reference Managers Effectively

Systematic Review

A review that uses predefined, transparent, and reproducible methods to identify, select, appraise, and synthesize evidence addressing a specific research question.
Related guides: How to Find a Research Gap · Choosing a Research Approach · How to Do a Literature Search · Scopus vs. Web of Science vs. Google Scholar · How to Find Seminal Papers · Finding Research With Citation Chaining · How to Find the Latest Research · How to Read a Research Paper Efficiently · How to Critically Evaluate a Research Paper · How to Organize Your Literature Review · How to Write a Literature Review That Synthesizes · When to Stop Your Literature Search · Narrative vs. Systematic vs. Scoping Reviews

T

Three-Pass Method

Also known as: Three-pass approach; Three-pass reading method
A progressive method for reading scholarly papers in successive passes that move from general orientation to fuller understanding and, when needed, detailed scrutiny.
Related guides: How to Read a Research Paper Efficiently

Transferability

Also known as: Qualitative transferability
The extent to which findings or insights from a study may be applicable or meaningful in other contexts, as judged in relation to similarities and differences between settings.
Related guides: Scope and Delimitations of Research

U

Unit of Analysis

Also known as: Unit of analysis; Units of analysis
The entity or type of entity about which a study analyzes data and draws conclusions.
Related guides: Scope and Delimitations of Research

V

Vote Counting

Also known as: Study vote counting; Direction-of-effect vote counting
A synthesis approach that classifies or counts studies according to the direction or statistical significance of their results rather than directly comparing the magnitude and uncertainty of effect estimates.
Related guides: How to Write a Literature Review That Synthesizes

W

Web of Science Core Collection

Also known as: WoS Core Collection
A curated collection of citation indexes within the Web of Science platform covering scholarly journals, conference proceedings, books, and other indexed research content.
Related guides: Scopus vs. Web of Science vs. Google Scholar