On how Cognitive Computing will plan your next Systematic Review

TL;DR

This paper explores how cognitive computing can enhance the planning phase of systematic literature reviews by analyzing expert practices and developing a prototype to support this critical, yet often overlooked, stage.

Contribution

It introduces a cognitive augmentation framework for planning systematic reviews and presents a prototype implementation based on insights from 24 authors.

Findings

Insights from 24 SLR authors on planning challenges

A prototype support system for review planning

Preliminary evaluation shows technical feasibility

Abstract

Systematic literature reviews (SLRs) are at the heart of evidence-based research, setting the foundation for future research and practice. However, producing good quality timely contributions is a challenging and highly cognitive endeavor, which has lately motivated the exploration of automation and support in the SLR process. In this paper we address an often overlooked phase in this process, that of planning literature reviews, and explore under the lenses of cognitive process augmentation how to overcome its most salient challenges. In doing so, we report on the insights from 24 SLR authors on planning practices, its challenges as well as feedback on support strategies inspired by recent advances in cognitive computing. We frame our findings under the cognitive augmentation framework, and report on a prototype implementation and evaluation focusing on further informing the technical feasibility.