Evaluation of a gene information summarization system by users during the analysis process of microarray datasets
2009

Evaluating a Gene Information Summarization System

Sample size: 5 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Yang Jianji, Cohen Aaron, Hersh William

Primary Institution: Oregon Health & Science University

Hypothesis

Can an automatic summarizer improve the analysis process of microarray datasets for genomic researchers?

Conclusion

The evaluation results suggest that GICSS can be useful for researchers in the genomic area.

Supporting Evidence

  • The clusters generated by GICSS were validated by scientists during their microarray analysis process.
  • Presenting sentences in the abstract provided significantly more important information to users than just showing the title.
  • GICSS output was significantly better than PubMed titles in terms of average precision scores.

Takeaway

Scientists can use a special computer program to help them find important information about genes faster when they study diseases.

Methodology

The study involved a hybrid evaluation method where scientists evaluated the output of the GICSS system while analyzing their own microarray data.

Potential Biases

Participants may have been fatigued, affecting their judgment on cluster quality.

Limitations

The evaluation was limited by the workload on participants and the need for familiarity with the genes being analyzed.

Participant Demographics

Biomedical researchers from Oregon Health & Science University.

Statistical Information

P-Value

p < 0.001

Statistical Significance

p < 0.001

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/1471-2105-10-S2-S5

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