The PRESS’ing snake game
Game in which the students work with assessing the search result (NB in English)
Assessing the search result
The exercise is meant for Ph.D students or advanced level searching and dealing with the final stages of searching. The purpose of the exercise is to make the students reflect and assess the search result.
Context
The game has been developed on the basis of the PRESS 2015 checklist. PRESS stands for: Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies (https://www.cda-amc.ca/sites/default/files/pdf/CP0015_PRESS_Update_Report_2016.pdf)
With the game we want to hold the students in this phase, which is easily neglected because you get absorbed in the search result and start the screening phase. In the systematic search a considered assessment has to be made of their own and their fellow students' search, and that can be done with the help of the questions in PRESS. (https://kib.ki.se/en/search-evaluate/systematic-reviews/press-2015-checklist-search-strategies).
Outcome
The exercise has so far only been tested on colleagues, but is expected to be trialled in 2026
The element has been developed as an engaging exercise in connection with teaching in academic literature search in connection with publishing a review. The students bring in and reflect on their own searches. The exercise thus works as revision.
Content and steps of the activity
The exercise can be scaled, but takes about 20 minutes
Each group (3-4 students) is given 1 game board, two dice and a sheet with a checklist. Each person in the group needs a playing piece.
The game is won by the player who reaches the finish first or has got the furthest when the time is up.
Slides
The game is introduced briefly with a presentation
PREPARATION
| Preparation | |
|---|---|
| The students need their own concrete search results in order to be motivated to play | |
| Form small groups of max 4 people and remember that each group needs a game board, playing pieces, a sheet with questions and dice | |