medical informatics
DESCRIPTION
A lecture by Dr Sarah BolbolTRANSCRIPT
Medical informatics
By
Sarah Bolbol
Assistant lecturer Industrial medicine & occupational hygiene
I. Basics concepts
Browser Also known as Internet or Web browser. Software that allows
users to access and navigate the Internet.
Database A collection of information that is organized and stored so it
can be search easily.
Homepage The first document World Wide Web users see when
connecting to a Web server
It usually provides a table of contents or index to the
contents of the item.
HTML (Hypertext
Markup Language)
The standard language used for creating documents on the
World Wide Web.
HTTP (Hypertext
Transmission
Protocol)
The standard language that World Wide Web clients and
servers use to communicate.
search engine software system that is designed to search for information
on the World Wide Web. Has three components:
Spider: Program that traverses the Web from link to link, identifying
and reading pages
Index: Database containing a copy of each Web page or other file
gathered by the spider
Search and retrieval mechanism: Technology that enables you to
search the index and that returns results in a relevancy-ranked order
Subject
Directories
A collection of links to Internet resources organized in subject
categories.(Dmoz, Infomine)
Subject Directories are the web organized by human beings.
Deep /
Invisible Web
part of the Web that cannot be crawled or indexed by
traditional search engines
Store their content in searchable databases that only produce
results dynamically in response to a direct request.
Largest Deep Web contain data of about 40 times the size of
the known surface Web.
Internet Directory Listing of sites by categories and sub categories based on
site listings selected by the directory's team of editors.
Yahoo! Is the most popular Net directory.
Internet Server A computer that stores data that can be accessed via the
Internet. Each server has its own unique domain name and
IP address.
Meta Search Engine Meta Search Engines search multiple search
engines for you (such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc)
and display the results for you on one page.
Meta engines speed and simplify searches.(Dogpile- Clusty)
Netiquette The rules of conduct for Internet users. Violating netiquette
could result in flaming for removal from a mailing list or
Usenet newsgroup. Some service providers will even cancel a
user's Internet account, denying access of the Net, if the
violation is severe.
keyword a significant term that identify the information described in an online
search tool.
Stop words words that many search engines DON'T stop for when searching texts and
titles on the web. Engines routinely ignore stop words, i.e., small and
common words, such as parts of speech (adverbs, conjunctions,
prepositions, or forms of "to be").
Blog A blog is a publicly available Web site that serves as a personal journal
as an information tool for an organization.
Entries or messages are displayed in reverse chronological order and
the site is usually updated daily.
Wiki a multi-authored or collaborative Web site that permits users to create
additional content for the site and to edit existing content.
The term wiki is derived from the Hawaiian "wiki wiki", which means
quick.
II.How to decode URL
Anatomy of URL
http://www.wmich.edu/registrar/registrati
on.html
III.SKILL Strategy
SKILL
Summarize your topic in one or two sentences
Keywords and phrases highlighted
Identify synonyms, alternate terms
Link keywords and terms
Locate your information
A. Keyword Search
A keyword search allows you to enter one
or more terms that represent a
concept/topic to search.
Example: Human cloning
B. Boolean operators
Using AND
Use AND in a search to:
narrow your results
tell the database that ALL search terms must be present in the resulting records
Example: cloning AND humans AND ethics
Using OR
Use OR in a search to:
connect two or more similar concepts (synonyms)
broaden your results, telling the database that ANY of your search terms can be present in the resulting records
Example: cloning OR genetics OR reproduction
Using NOT
Use NOT in a search to:
exclude words from your search
narrow your search, telling the database to ignore concepts that may be implied by your search terms
Example: cloning NOT sheep
C. Phrase Search
A phrase search is one of the most efficient
and effective ways to narrow down results.
Enclose a phrase or words in double
quotations (" ") when exact word order is
required.
"Mexican American"
D.Truncation
Truncation is searching by the root of a word. Truncation finds variations of the ending of a word (plurals, different spellings, multiple suffixes).
The * asterisk is a common truncation symbol to place at the ending.
Example:
comput* = compute, computer, computers, computerization
E. Nesting
Nesting is a method of combining Boolean operators in a logical order.
When using Boolean Operators in combination, however, it is important to "nest" them.
Nesting means putting operators in parentheses in order to tell the library catalog, database, or Internet search engine how it should search for your terms.
Examples of Nesting:
( treatment or outcomes ) AND ( anorexia
not bulimia )
this search finds the treatment or outcomes
for anorexia but not for bulimia
F. Thesaurus
Many bibliographic databases use what is
known as a “controlled vocabulary‟ to index
articles.
Each common medical concept is given a
single subject heading which covers all the
words and phrases used to describe that
concept
For example, ―Cerebral vascular accident‖ is a
subject heading which covers all the words and
phrases used for the concept of ―stroke‖.
Using a thesaurus also helps overcome
problems of inconsistent terminology
and alternative terms or spellings.
If you type in the word “paediatric‟ as a
keyword in a search you should also carry out
a search for “pediatric‟ as well, as
databases can use both spellings.
Using the thesaurus will label articles with
either spelling under one subject heading
– so you would only need then to do one
search.
Each database uses a different list of
subject headings i.e. the BNI thesaurus
will have different subject headings to the
Medline thesaurus.
For this reason, you can only use a
thesaurus if you are searching in one
database only in Advanced Search.
Subject headings are normally arranged in a hierarchy or tree structure, where broad subjects are subdivided into more specific topics.
G.Snowballing
Reference harvesting or pearl
growing
Snowball method If you wish to obtain detailed information
about a subject or find lots of information, you
can use the snowball method.
With this method you start your search with a
key document. This could be a well-known work
or a highly-praised article. A key document
contains citations or references to other
sources about the same subject. This leads to
other documents that, in turn, include references
IV.Citing medicine
Citation Format for Books - single author
Title: Knossos Mythology-History Guide to the Archaeological Site
Author: Antonis Vassilakis
Publisher: Adam Editions
City Published: Athens
Editor: Costas Adam
Date Published: 2002
a) Antonis Vassilakis. Knossos Mythology-History Guide to the Archaeological Site. Athens: Adam Editions, 2002. Print.
b) Adam, Costas. "Knossos Mythology-History Guide to the Archaeological Site". Athens: Adam Editions, 2002. Print.
c) Vassilakis, Antonis. Knossos Mythology-History Guide to the Archaeological Site. Athens: Adam Editions, 2002. Print.
Citation Format for a Book with Multiple Authors
Title: Aegean Art and Architecture
Author: Donald Preziosi, Louise A. Hitchcock
Publisher: Oxford University Press
City Published: Oxford
Editor: Costas Adam
Date Published: 1999
a) Preziosi, Donald, Hitchcock, Louise. Aegean Art and Architecture. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. Print.
b) Preziosi, Donald and Louise A.Hitchcock. Aegean Art and Architecture. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. Print.
c) Preziosi, Donald and Louise A.Hitchcock. Aegean Art and Architecture. Oxford University Press,1999: Oxford. Print.
Book with an Editors Rather Than an Author
Title: Atlas of Classical Archaeology
Author: --
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
City Published: New York
Editor: M. I Finley
Date Publisher: 1977
a) Finley, M. I., ed. Atlas of Classical
Archaeology . New York: McGraw-Hill, 1977. Print.
b) Unknown, Atlas of Classical Archaeology, ed. M.I. Finley, ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1977. Print.
c) Atlas of Classical Archaeology , M. I.Finley, ed. New York : McGraw-Hill, 1977. Print.
Magazine Article
Title: Palo Alto Idea House
Author: Ann Bertelsen and Daniel Gregory
Magazine name: Sunset
City Published: --
Volume: --
Date Published: September 2002
URL: www.sunset.com
a) Bertelsen, Ann "Palo Alto Idea House." Sept 2002: 107. Print.
b) Bertelsen, Ann and Gregory, Daniel."Palo Alto Idea House." Sunset , Sept 2002: 107. Print.
c) Bertelsen, Ann and Daniel Gregory. Sunset "Palo Alto Idea House." Sept 2002: 107. Print.
Journal Article
Title: Defying death after DNA damage Author: Tina Rich, Rachel L. Allen & Andrew
H. Wyllie Associated Institution: Dept. of Pathology,
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K. Publisher: Nature City Published: -- Volume: Vol. 407 Date Published: 12 October 2000 URL: www.nature.com
a) Rich, Tina, Rachel L. Allen and Andrew H. Wyllie."Defying death after DNA damage." Nature (12 Oct. 2000): Vol. 407, 777-783. Print.
b) Rich, Tina, Rachel L. Allen and Andrew H. Wyllie.; Nature 407 "Defying death after DNA damage." (2000): 777-783. Print.
c) Rich, Tina, Allen Rachel L. and Wyllie Andrew H. "Defying death after DNA damage." Nature 407 (2000): 777-783. Print.
A Wiki
Title: Amaranth
Author:
Web site Name: Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia
Associated Institution: Wikimedia Foundation
City Published: —
Date Last Modified: September 11, 2008
Year Visited:September 12, 2010
URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranth
a) "Amaranth." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.11 Sept 2008. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranth > 12 Sept 2010. <
b) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 11 Sept 2008. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranth > 12 Sept 2010.
c) None, "Amaranth." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 11 Sept 2008. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranth > 12 Sept 2010.
Academic Site
Title: Introduction to Information Research
Author: Eric Brenner
Associated Institution: San Mateo Community College District
Location: Skyline, CA
Date Last Modified: 2009
Date Visited: May 2010
URL: http://www.smccd.net/accounts/skylib/l100/
a) Brenner, Eric. "Introduction to Information Research." 2009. San Mateo Community College District, <http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/skylib/l100/> May 2010. Web.
b) Brenner, Eric. "Introduction to Information Research." Skyline, CA, 2009. Web. <http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/skylib/l100/> May 2010.
c) Brenner, Eric. "Introduction to Information Research." San Mateo Community College District, 2009. Web. <http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/skylib/l100/> May 2010.
How to cite a website
Example
AMA: helping doctors help patients [homepage on the Internet]. Chicago: American Medical Association; c1995-2007 [cited 2007 Feb 22]. Available from: http://www.ama-assn.org/.
Entire Website
The MiraCosta Library homepage [internet].
Retrieved from: http://library.miracosta.e
du/homepage
A specific page within a
Web site
Merriam-Webster’s online
dictionary (n.d) . Heuristic
[internet]. Retrieved from
http://www.m-
w.com/dictionary/heuristic
Sea Turtle Restoration
Project (n.d). Threats to
sea turtles [internet].
Retrieved from
http://seaturtles.org/sec
tion.php?id=104
V. Web site evaluation
5 main items
Authority
Accuracy
Currency
Objectivity
Coverage
Authority
Author of site: Is there an author named on the page? Is the author qualified?
Sponsor of site :-- Is there a sponsor? Is the sponsor qualified? (i.e. Is there an "about us" or "our mission" link?)
Link or contact Information: -- Is the author or sponsor's name, e-mail, postal address listed?
Answer : No. The page appears to be a joke. The author belongs to a factious university. Look at the bottom of the page to discover the true author.
Accuracy Factual -- Does the author give factual information? Documented / well-researched -- Does the author
cite his/her sources? Is the research methodology explained?
Subject to verification -- Can the information be verified by additional resources in print on on the Web?
Corroborated -- Are links and resource citations included (possibly using MLA citation format.)
Collaborative -- Is a committee or editor named who reviews the content or verifies facts
Answer: No. This information is not corroborated
(backed up) by data in the mainstream medical community.
Currency
Date-stamped -- Is there a "last updated" notation or evidence of recent changes?
Seemingly current -- Does the information seem current to you? Do news events, conference events or any bits information lead you to believe the page has been updated recently?
Linked currently -- Are the links still working? Do pages turn up with "this site has moved" or "page not found―
Answer: The page is current. However, no links are included.
Objectivity
Bias -- Does the page/site show minimal signs of bias: political, ideological, personal, or cultural?
Intent -- Does the page present factual information or is it designed to sway opinion?
Influence -- Is the site is sponsored or underwritten by advertising, is the writing free of bias supporting the sponsor?
Answer: No. The page content is opinion and imagination.
Coverage Relevant -- Do the topics covered include your
topic? Does the page cover a variety of (too many) topics or is it focused on one relevant topic?
Adequate -- Does the page information adequately cover your topic: is it too general or too detailed?
Audience appropriate -- Is the content intended for children, scholars, general public? Was the page written to inform, educate, entertain (parody).
Answer: No. The page does not cover this topic.
It is a spoof intended to teach the importance of critical thinking when evaluating a web page.
Authority
Author of site Is there an author named on the page? Is the author qualified?
Sponsor of site -- Is there a sponsor? Is the sponsor qualified? (i.e. Is there an "about us" or "our mission" link?)
Link or contact Information -- Is the author or sponsor's name, e-mail, postal address listed?
Answer: Yes. The author is not named;
however, UNICEF is a well-known international, collaborative organization.
Accuracy
Factual -- Does the author give factual information?
Documented / well-researched -- Does the author cite his/her sources? Is the research methodology explained?
Subject to verification -- Can the information be verified by additional resources in print on on the Web?
Corroborated -- Are links and resource citations included (possibly using MLA citation format.)
Collaborative -- Is a committee or editor named who reviews the content or verifies facts
Answer: Yes. This information is backed up by
data (statistics link) and other resources links.
Currency
Date-stamped -- Is there a "last updated" notation or evidence of recent changes?
Seemingly current -- Does the information seem current to you? Do news events, conference events or any bits information lead you to believe the page has been updated recently?
Linked currently -- Are the links still working? Do pages turn up with "this site has moved" or "page not found―
Answer: Yes The page is current.
Objectivity
Bias -- Does the page/site show minimal signs of bias: political, ideological, personal, or cultural?
Intent -- Does the page present factual information or is it designed to sway opinion?
Influence -- Is the site is sponsored or underwritten by advertising, is the writing free of bias supporting the sponsor?
Answer: Yes. The site appears to be
objective. It is free of advertising. It is funded by public donations.
Coverage
Relevant -- Do the topics covered include your topic? Does the page cover a variety of (too many) topics or is it focused on one relevant topic?
Adequate -- Does the page information adequately cover your topic: is it too general or too detailed?
Audience appropriate -- Is the content intended for children, scholars, general public? Was the page written to inform, educate, entertain (parody).
Answer: Yes. The site gives a wealth of
factual information on this topic.
Authority
Author of site Is there an author named on the page? Is the author qualified?
Sponsor of site -- Is there a sponsor? Is the sponsor qualified? (i.e. Is there an "about us" or "our mission" link?)
Link or contact Information -- Is the author or sponsor's name, e-mail, postal address listed?
Answer: Uncertain. The author is not listed on the page. Of the BOARD OF DIRECTORS,few have PhDs in Medicine. The HOME link reveals "The Group" members. The authority of the information is in question. Links to other sites show support for the viewpoint.
Accuracy
Factual -- Does the author give factual information?
Documented / well-researched -- Does the author cite his/her sources? Is the research methodology explained?
Subject to verification -- Can the information be verified by additional resources in print on on the Web?
Corroborated -- Are links and resource citations included (possibly using MLA citation format.)
Collaborative -- Is a committee or editor named who reviews the content or verifies facts
Answer: No. This page is not backed up by scientific data or clinical trials.
Currency
Date-stamped -- Is there a "last updated" notation or evidence of recent changes?
Seemingly current -- Does the information seem current to you? Do news events, conference events or any bits information lead you to believe the page has been updated recently?
Linked currently -- Are the links still working? Do pages turn up with "this site has moved" or "page not found―
Answer: Yes The page is current. All links lead to similarly-minded links. All videos support the "myth" point of view.
Coverage
Relevant -- Do the topics covered include your topic? Does the page cover a variety of (too many) topics or is it focused on one relevant topic?
Adequate -- Does the page information adequately cover your topic: is it too general or too detailed?
Audience appropriate -- Is the content intended for children, scholars, general public? Was the page written to inform, educate, entertain (parody).
Answer: No. The site does not give factual
information on this topic.
HONcode
Definition
Health On the Net Foundation is a not-for-
profit organization founded in 1995 under
the resposibility of the Geneva Ministry of
Health and based in Geneva, Switzerland.
HON was founded to encourage the
dissemination of quality health information
for patients and professionals and the
general public.
Facilitate access to the latest and most
relevant medical data through the use of
the internet.
The HONcode certification is an ethical
standard aimed at offering quality health
information.
It demonstrates the intent of a website
to publish transparent information.
The HONcode: Principles
Quality Criteria for Health related
Websites Commission of the
European Communities
Transparency and Honesty
• Transparency of provider of site: (name, address ,electronic address of the person or organization responsible for the site)
• Transparency of purpose and objective of the site Target audience clearly defined
• Transparency of all sources of funding for site (grants, sponsors, advertisers, non-profit, voluntary assistance).
Privacy and data protection
• Privacy and data protection policy
and system for the processing of
personal data, including processing
invisible to users, to be clearly defined in
accordance with community Data
Protection legislation
Updating of information
• Clear and regular updating of the site,
with date of up-date clearly displayed for
each page
Accountability
• user feedback
• Responsible partnering -linking to
other websites is undertaken only with
trustworthy individuals and organizations
• Editorial policy -clear statement
describing what procedure was used for
selection of content.
Accessibility
• Attention to guidelines on physical
accessibility as well as general findability,
searchability, readability, usability, etc.
MCQs
1. Which one of the following is NOT an example of an extension in a URL?
(A) .gov
(B).edu (C) .npr
(D) .com
2. You can optimize your search results on the Web by
(A) using several different search engines. (B) sticking to your topic and resisting
distractions. (C) becoming familiar with and using
reliable Web resources such asNational Geographic, LA Times, and the Library of Congress.
(D) all of the above
3. Which of the following is the best indicator that a Web site is reliable?
(A) The author of the site tells you the
information is reliable. (B) The author of the site provides contact
information and his or her credentials. (C) The author links to his or her favorite
Web sites. (D) The author states in bold letters that the
site was proofread by a librarian.
4. What does this URL tell you about the source? http://vos.ucsb.edu
(A) It is associated with an educational institution.
(B) It is an English teacher’s personal home page.
(C) It is an article from a magazine.
(D) It is from a directory.
5. Which of the following is an example of a Boolean search?
(A) Shakespeare sonnets
(B) Shakespeare AND sonnets
(C) "Shakespeare" with "SONNETS―
(D) Shakespeare (sonnets)
6. Which of the following statements about search engines and directories is true?
(A) A search engine does not discriminate between good and bad sites.
(B) A search engine displays all Web pages that contain your keywords and may list thousands of unordered results.
(C)A directory is someone’s attempt to categorize the best sites available for a given subject or topic.
(D) all of the above
7. Which of the following statements about meta-search engines is NOT true?
(A) Meta-search engines scan multiple search engines simultaneously.
(B) Meta-search engines are a waste of time because they provide very few results.
(C) Meta-search engines provide results based on the keyword(s) submitted.
(D) Meta-search engines can save time, but you shouldn't rely on them exclusively.
8. Critically evaluating content on the Web is important because
(A) Web authors are always less professional.
(B) Web authors are always biased.
(C)anyone can publish on the Web. There’s
no guarantee that what you’re reading is objective and has gone through standard fact-checking and editorial reviews.
(D) printed information is always more accurate than information found on the Web.
9. Which of the following is an example of effective online searching?
(A) Do a random keyword search on a search engine of your choice. Then, quickly browse through all the results listed and find the ones you think have the most useful information.
(B) Formulate research questions, list possible sources of information, identify keywords, and begin your search.
(C) Visit chat rooms and find out what others are saying about your topic.
(D) Post a question about your topic on a message board and read all the responses.
10. Which of the following citations is composed according to the MLA-citation manual and guide for an article in an online magazine?
(A) Doe, Jane. "Fundamentals of Guitar." Guitar Virtuoso 2000. 2 Feb. 2001. http://www.guitarvirtuoso.com
(B) "Fundamentals of Guitar," by Jane Doe.
http://www.guitarvirtuoso.com, Guitar Virtuoso, 2000.
(C) Doe, Jane. Fundamentals of Guitar. Guitar Virtuoso, 2000. guitarvirtuoso.com
(D) "http://www.guitarvirtuoso.com" Guitar Virtuoso. "The Fundamentals of Guitar." 2000. (2 Feb. 2001).
Good luck