Skip to main content
. 2016 Nov 16;6:37208. doi: 10.1038/srep37208

Table 2. Reporting information of literature search.

Category Frequency Proportion [%(95% CI)]
Reported database searched (n = 102) Yes 89 87.30 (79.30–92.50)
Language of database searched (n = 89)* English 88 98.90 (92.50–99.80)
Chinese 10 11.20 (6.20–19.60)
Chinese + English 9 10.10 (5.30–18.30)
Number of Chinese database searched Median (IQR) 5(3–6)  
Number of English database searched Median (IQR) 3(3–4)  
Number of search strategy Median (IQR) 2(1–3)  
Reported search strategy (n = 89) Yes 20 22.50 (15.00–32.30)
Presented search strategy (n = 20) Manuscript 9 45.00 (25.30–66.40)
Supplement 5 25.00 (10.80–47.80)
Online supplement 6 30.00 (14.10–52.70)
Searched previous published meta analysis (n = 89) Yes 24 27.00 (18.80–37.10)
Supplemental literature search (n = 89) Yes 75 84.30 (75.20–90.50)
Supplemental literature search method (n = 75) Reference lists checking 42 56.00 (44.70–66.80)
Clinical trial registration platform 27 36.00 (26.00–47.40)
Conference abstracts or Web sites 43 57.30 (46.00–68.00)
Google engine 17 22.70 (14.60–33.50)

*13 studies did not search databases. CI, confidence interval; IQR, interquartile range.