Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Apr 20, 2025
Date Accepted: Nov 10, 2025
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Development and Validation of a Two-Spirit, Trans, and Non-binary Search Hedge: A Protocol
ABSTRACT
Background:
Searching for Two-Spirit, Transgender, and Non-binary (2STGNB) articles within large academic databases can be a challenging process, partly due to the dynamic and diverse definitions of words and terminologies used by multiple interest holders. Search hedges are pre-established search strings that aid in the efficacy of identifying and screening relevant articles. A validated search hedge focused on 2STGNB people and topics will aid in identifying relevant literature.
Objective:
To develop and validate the sensitivity and precision of an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural 2STGNB search hedge.
Methods:
A randomized sample of the results retrieved from Ovid MEDLINE and APA PsycInfo using the 2STGNB search hedge will be independently screened by at least two reviewers to determine their relevance to 2STGNB topics.
Results:
The sensitivity and specificity of the search hedge will be calculated. Validation and data analysis are expected to be finished by August 2025.
Conclusions:
Rigorous and transparent knowledge synthesis processes, starting with a high-quality search hedge, can help to inform and equip community members, clinicians, policymakers, and other key decision-makers, with scientifically sound evidence.
Citation
