clahrc january 2015
TRANSCRIPT
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARY
Diving for pearls…..How to get the most from your literature search.
Isla Kuhn
Medical Library
CLAHRC Fellows Jan 2015
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARY
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARY
a) introducing the research topic, with an explanation of why the subject was chosen for study,
b) reviewing relevant literature and showing how this has informed the research issue,
c) explaining how the research has been designed and why the research methods being used have been chosen (methodology),
d) outlining the findings,e) analysing the findings and discussing them
in the context of the literature review,f) concluding, andg) references
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARY
a) introducing the research topic, with an explanation of why the subject was chosen for study,
b) reviewing relevant literature and showing how this has informed the research issue,
c) explaining how the research has been designed and why the research methods being used have been chosen (methodology),
d) outlining the findings,e) analysing the findings and discussing them
in the context of the literature review,f) concluding, andg) references
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARY
introducing the research topic
• clarifying the question
• setting parameters
reviewing relevant literature
• Identifying keywords and synonyms
• Structuring your search strategy with boolean logic
• Identify relevant sources (and then search them!)
References
• DON’T plagiarise!
• Don’t lose marks through sloppy references
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARY
introducing the research topic
• clarifying the question
• setting parameters
reviewing relevant literature
• Identifying keywords and synonyms
• Structuring your search strategy with boolean logic
• Identify relevant sources (and then search them thoroughly!)
References
• DON’T plagiarise!
• Don’t lose marks through sloppy references
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARY
introducing the research topic
• clarifying the question
• setting parameters
reviewing relevant literature
• Identifying keywords and synonyms
• Structuring your search strategy with boolean logic
• Identify relevant sources (and then search them!)
References
• DON’T plagiarise!
• Don’t lose marks through sloppy references
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARYFrom Topic to Results
• Topic -> question -> keywords/synonyms
Effect of chocolate in prevention of heart disease
...”Is consuming chocolate effective in reducing risk of heart disease?” ….
Themes / PICO
…………………keywords???.... synonyms???........................
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARY
Is consuming chocolate effective in reducing the risk of heart disease?
P –problem / patient?
I – Intervention?
C – Comparison?
O – Outcome?
Synonyms?
From Topic to Results
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARY
Is consuming chocolate effective in reducing the risk of heart disease?
P – heart disease
I – chocolate
C –
O – risk
From Topic to Results
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARY
Is consuming chocolate effective in reducing the risk of heart disease?
P – heart disease / heart failure / cardiovascular disease / coronary disease
I – chocolate / cocoa / cacao
C –
O –risk / prevention /
From Topic to Results
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARY
Which will give you better hits (a more SPECIFIC search)?
A. coronary disease AND chocolate
B. chocolate OR heart failure
C. coronary disease NOT chocolate
D. risk AND chocolate
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARY
AND – to narrow the search by combining different topics
eg
“physiotherapy” and “stroke”
Both terms must be present in the results.
From Topic to Results:Boolean Logic
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARY
Which will give you most hits (a more SENSITIVE search)
A. coronary disease AND heart failure
B. coronary disease OR heart failure
C. coronary disease NOT heart failure
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARY
From Topic to Results:Boolean Logic
OR – to broaden your search, by combining similar terms
eg
“exercise” or “physical activity”
Either term can be present in the resulting set of articles.
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARY
Which will give you best hits (best combination of SPECIFICITY & SENSITIVITY)?
A. coronary disease AND chocolate AND risk
B. (coronary disease OR heart failure) AND chocolate AND risk
C. chocolate AND risk AND coronary failure
D. risk AND (chocolate OR cocoa) AND (coronary disease OR heart failure)
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARY
From Topic to Results:Boolean Logic
NOT – to restrict your search so that it does not contain a particular term
eg
“physical therapy” not “manual therapy”
The first, but not the second, term must be present.
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARY
Is consuming chocolate effective in the prevention of heart disease?
heart disease OR heart failure OR cardiovascular disease OR coronary disease
AND
chocolate OR cocoa OR cacao
AND
risk OR prevention
From Topic to Results
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARY
#1 heart disease
#2 heart failure
#3 cardiovascular disease
#4 coronary disease
#5 #1 or #2 or #3 or #4
#6 chocolate
#7 cocoa
#8 cacao
#9 #6 or #7 or #8
#10 risk
#11 prevention
#12 #10 or #11
#13 ????
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARY
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARYExtra tools….
• “phrase searching”
• Truncation eg: truncat*
• Truncation
• Truncate
• Truncated
• Truncates etc….
• MeSH
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARYExtra tools….
• “phrase searching”
• Truncation eg: truncat*
• MeSH
• Limits
• PRISMA
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARYExtra tools….
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARY
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARYWhat’s a more interesting question?
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARY
• Databases
• Medline
• PsycINFO
• ???
• EndnoteWeb or zotero or mendeley….
• LibrarySearch (to get hold of the articles using RAVEN) or NHS ejournals (using NHS ATHENS)
From Topic to Results
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARYSearching – Do’s & Don’ts
• Don’t try to do the whole search in one line
• Don’t imagine that your first attempt will get all the articles you need
• Don’t give up!
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARYSearching – Do’s & Don’ts
• Do think of alternative ways of talking about your topic
• Do learn from your hits and your misses
• Do remember that you still have to critically appraise each article
• http://www.casp-uk.net/ CASP (Critical Appraisal Skills Programme)
• Do ask for help
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARYMEDICAL LIBRARYHelp!
Isla Kuhn
Medical Librarian
Medical Library
Box 111
Addenbrooke’s Hospital
email: [email protected]
twitter: @ilk21
phone: (01223 3) 36750
web: http://library.medschl.cam.ac.uk
Thank you.