One option links the target words by the use of lines drawn across the PDF. Acrobat allows several options for creating a summary of the comments. The targeted word and the annotation also are listed after each of the original PDF’s text pages. The comment takes the form of a full-text word targeted as a result of the initial Acrobat text list (Acrobat highlights the complete word in which the target pattern of letters is found) and a numerical annotation (Fig. Other systems exist (Apache Gate, Dr Evidence) but are less ubiquitous than the Acrobat packages.Īdobe Pro DC creates a separate PDF file in which the target words are highlighted and linked to their comment.

the stage by which study selection is undertaken and basic non-numerical data are extracted to support the selection decision. Recognising that stages 1 and 3 may be beyond our basic computing skills, we decided to experiment with Acrobat 11 Pro to see if it can assist in stage 2, i.e. Thereafter, stage 3 commences with full-data extraction. more detailed study selection combined often with extraction of the non-numeric data justifying the decision. Stage 2 involves full text, frequently in PDF-the decision being whether to include/exclude the study, i.e. study selection based on title and abstract-involving the lowest level of extraction. Stage 1 screens database output (decision-acquire/not acquire full text), i.e. The process of data extraction for a review is, in reality, staged. Although the hope of ‘jam tomorrow’ is attractive, the reviewers have to deal with the ‘bread and butter’ of routine and manual extraction. This leaves the current reviewers with a problem. However, automated extraction of all study data still requires development for maximal accuracy and may be impossible. There is the potential gain of saving time of researchers by extracting from documents with some common structure. Without the potential to share, maintenance is needlessly repetitive.

Without transparency, the systematic nature of the work is threatened. It is rare that these tabulated data contain explicit source co-ordinates and are rarely shared. Systematic reviews contain tabulated data often extracted from source Portable Document Format (PDFs). Automated extraction of data from randomised trials of the effects of healthcare is attractive.

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