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Tracing the ‘grey literature’ of poster presentations: a mapping review

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Rowe, Nicholas·2017·Health Information & Libraries Journal
DOI 10.1111/hir.12177
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Abstract

Background: Posters are a popular way of presenting information at conferences. However, little research has been conducted into their development, and the patterns and extent of their use are unclear. Objectives: A mapping review was performed to chart the development and utilisation of the poster medium, and to highlight the main literature themes and contributions. Methods: A search for the term ‘poster presentation’ was conducted simultaneously in 249 databases. Results were categorised by discipline and analysed by decade. The results were used to form an informetric‐based mapping review. Results: (i) Medicine and health care disciplines are the predominant poster users and since 1990 have accounted for 68–75% of the overall published data. (ii) Over 99% of the returns led only to abstract or title citations for conference posters. (iii) Poster presentations offer much potentially useful information, but remain difficult to access. Conclusions: If the aim of poster presentation is to share and discuss information with others, then the limitations of poster abstracts and questions raised in the retrieved literature suggest that further efforts are required to make this more effective. Library and information specialists of all disciplines are likely to play a key role in such developments, and especially those from the medicine and health care disciplines which feature so prominently.

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Authors
Rowe, N.
Affiliations
University of Lapland (FI)
Corresponding author
Rowe, Nicholas
ORCID
Rowe, Nicholas
Venue
Health Information & Libraries Journal
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2017-04-06
Volume
34
Issue
2
Pages
106-124
ISSN
  • 1471-1834 (ISSN-L)
  • 1471-1842
DOI
10.1111/hir.12177
OpenAlex
W2605100443
Cited by
24
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 9
FWCI
1.11
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Health Information & Libraries Journal (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › scientometrics and bibliometrics research
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Academic Writing and Publishing
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management Information Systems › Optics and Image Analysis
Keywords
poster presentations, conference posters, grey literature, citation patterns, informetrics, library services

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