Topic modeling as a method to speed literature review

Starts: 01:24

Join the NOAA Central Library for a look into literature reviews done by our Research team!

Presenter: Trevor Riley, Head of Public Services, NOAA Central Library

Summary: Developing a search strategy and gathering literature on a topic or research question can be extremely time-consuming, especially in the environmental sciences where evidence often draws on cross-disciplinary research. While precision searching can often ensure quick retrieval of relevant literature, often it is important to develop a more sensitive search strategy in order to lower the risk of missing relevant literature and capture the highest number of relevant resources. In an effort to speed up various phases of the literature gathering process, the NOAA Central Library Research Services integrates a number of text mining methods to assist in search strategy development and literature screening. This seminar will focus on the application of topic modeling as a method to increase the capture of exemplar or "seed" articles in the initial phase of research, as well as review the use case for topic modeling for pre-screening literature.

Keywords: methods, research, literature review