Literature-Based Discovery? The Very Idea

Abstract

How is it possible to extract new knowledge from something already published? The possibility arises, for example, when two articles considered together suggest information of scientific interest not apparent from either article alone. In that sense, the two articles are complementary, a relationship based on the scientific problems, findings, and arguments presented. Whether the information found is also new and can lead to a plausible, testable hypothesis requires further searching and analysis of the literature from which it emerged.