Searching on Medline MBChB 3 July 2015

Searching on Medline CONTENTS SLIDE 1: Welcome to this audio recording with selected slides, which will demonstrate methods of searching effectively on the key resource Medline Medline is the largest biomedical database with the same content as PubMed but with links through to the full text of material subscribed at the University SLIDE 2: Following a reminder of how to locate and login to Medline, there are five main areas:      searching for medical subject headings or MeSH; searching for free text or general keywords; then how to combine the separate lines of search using Boolean logic; placing further limits such as publication type on the search; and in the final section (split into two), after a reminder of how to retrieve a full text article, we will look at saving the whole search strategy or history carried out, as well as exporting individual results or sets of results to the reference management software tool RefWorks (which also enables citing of references and creation of bibliographies in Word) SLIDE 3: First, locating and opening Medline via FindIt SLIDE 4: The most direct route to the Library’s discovery tool FindIt is to go to www.findit.bham.ac.uk Remember to Sign In with your University login via the button at the top right of the screen SLIDE 5: Also at the top right of the FindIt screen is a tab to “Find Databases” (Or you can enter the database name in the main search bar, but this will also retrieve articles, books and other material) SLIDE 6: In the pop-up for Find Databases you can either Search by subject for your area, or just enter the database title in “Search by name” In this case I want Medline Then select Find Database SLIDE 7: To go direct to Medline, just click directly onto the title itself Jon Andrews, Subject Advisor, Barnes Library j.m.andrews@bham.ac.uk SLIDE 8: Medline here is provided by the supplier Ovid, who also provide a number of other databases and some books and journals Just choose one option at a time! If you choose more, then you will actually reduce the options you have to narrow and refine searches Select Medline from 1946 to the nearest date Ignore the Medline options which included nonindexed citations Click directly on the title or tick the box directly to the left and OK SLIDE 9: Medical Subject Headings MeSH are simply medical subject headings, developed by the National Library of Medicine in the USA They provide a form of indexing, also called thesaurus or controlled vocabulary for all the articles and other material within Medline, enabling some very effective search and retrieval of articles on specific areas SLIDE 10: This is the default screen produced by selecting Medline from the list of Ovid resources It is the Advanced search tab Underneath the search bar is a tick box labelled “Map term to subject heading”, which enables a search for the MeSH terms or medical subject headings Leave this box ticked for now, and enter the first search term I’m going to be looking for material on the use of statins in treating hypertension, so I’ll divide this up into the key areas First I’ll search for items on Hypertension, so I’ll that and click Search SLIDE 11: This produces a list of different subject headings to choose from, the characteristic blue typeface indicates too that these are MeSH terms Note the Scope column to the right: click on the ‘i’ icon for more information about the heading SLIDE 12: As with this example, there’s a definition for the term – and further information in the Note – and you should also note the “Used for” list at the bottom Having found the MeSH for hypertension, then you don’t need to search for “high blood pressure” and the other variants as well, as these will all just point to the Medical subject heading “hypertension” Click on Previous page at the top to go back to the list Jon Andrews, Subject Advisor, Barnes Library j.m.andrews@bham.ac.uk SLIDE 13: There are a number of options here, but hypertension seems the closest to the search I’m doing The MeSH terms form part of a hierarchy underpinning the whole database, a bit like a skeleton for the body of Medline Clicking directly on the term in question will show where it occurs within that hierarchy, also called a subject tree SLIDE 14: Hypertension occurs within Vascular diseases, itself within Cardiovascular diseases SLIDE 15: There are further, narrower terms within Hypertension such as Masked Hypertension SLIDE 16: The next point to note is the column Explode Ticking this box for Hypertension will retrieve not only articles indexed with that specific term, but with the narrow terms from the previous screen too Focus will retrieve a more limited set of results, where Hypertension is considered the main point of the articles concerned So select Explode and Continue SLIDE 17: This takes you to a set of subheadings Specific options may help, but if in doubt then just choose “Include all … “ at the top SLIDE 18: The MeSH is now at the top of the default search screen in Medline, with the number of results retrieved and with the results themselves further down the screen You can now proceed to enter a further search term Do note this way of working: one term at a time This provides more flexibility for combining searches later on Jon Andrews, Subject Advisor, Barnes Library j.m.andrews@bham.ac.uk SLIDE 19: Free Text Searching An alternative to using MeSH terms is looking for keywords within the text, or free text searching as it is called This may pick up further items not found under some MeSH terms SLIDE 20: On the main search page again, enter the next term: in this case, statins, and Search SLIDE 21: Statins produces a range of possible headings, and checking the scope note may lead to the Reductase inhibitors at the top An alternative, however, is simply to use the keyword option at the end This will search for “statins” within the texts of the articles in Medline, rather than pulling out items linked to a particular MeSH Then Continue SLIDE 22: The free text keyword will then appear directly on the main search page list with the suffix mp SLIDE 23: Combining Search Terms Essential for a successful search is combining the different elements effectively The key connectors are AND, OR, sometimes NOT (Boolean operators) Think of AND as “both and”: both terms selected need to be present or linked to the articles found (for example, “operating theatre” AND “surgeon”) This narrows down a search OR is “either OR”: good for alternatives (“physician OR doctor”, “GP or family doctor” etc) For a useful illustration of Boolean operators, follow the Rockwell Shrock link on this slide SLIDE 24: The multi-field search tab is a useful place to freetext searching if you wish You can combine terms with Boolean operators at the left of the search bars Jon Andrews, Subject Advisor, Barnes Library j.m.andrews@bham.ac.uk SLIDE 25: Back on our previous screen, it’s now time to connect the terms SLIDE 26: Tick the boxes to the left of both terms in the list The AND, OR options underneath are now activated: in this case, choose AND to retrieve articles indexed by the MeSH hypertension and which also have “statins” in the text SLIDE 27: As you can see, the combined search has reduced the number of results considerably However, it’s still a high number to go through Further search terms could be found and added with AND, but placing Limits is another way to produce more relevant results SLIDE 28: LImits Medline and other Ovid databases offer specific means of placing limits by publication type, age group, publication date and other criteria SLIDE 29: Basic limits are underneath the search bar: these can be selected as required, then just click Search to place these limits on the last search in the history above Click on Additional Limits for further options SLIDE 30: Age groups and publication types are two very useful additional limits: once specifics are chosen from within each menu, then just select Limit a Search SLIDE 31: In this case, selecting English Language, and Randomized Control Trial (publication type) as limiters has brought the number down to 63, so much more manageable SLIDE 32: The individual results can be checked lower down the screen THE NEXT SECTION WILL DEAL WITH VIEWING AND MANAGING RESULTS Jon Andrews, Subject Advisor, Barnes Library j.m.andrews@bham.ac.uk SLIDE 33: Viewing and managing results part 1: retrieving full text and saving the search history SLIDE 34: Within each record, you can view the abstract or summary; You may be able to open a PDF direct from the reference if provided by the supplier; Otherwise, see the options to the right of the record Complete reference will provide full details including all the MeSH terms attached to the article, and the abstract Click on the FindIt@Bham link to see if there is full text access SLIDE 35: In this case, the full article can be viewed via Nature: click Go SLIDE 36: Back on the main search screen, the Save Search History button allows you to just that SLIDE 37: First time, you need to create a new account (free!) within Ovid This is separate to your University login SLIDE 38: Once you’ve done that, a pop-up screen will require a name for the searches – eg HypertensionMedline (specifies the database you’ve used), before saving the whole strategy or history You can then return at any time and run the search again without re-entering all the terms The history is saved in “My Workspace – My searches and alerts” SLIDE 39: Viewing and managing results part Part 2: RefWorks The RefWorks software tool enables storage of results from databases and elsewhere, and then the citation of references in documents and creation of bibliographies See the Library’s iCite guide for more details under Reference Management Software and RefWorks SLIDE 40: In a separate tab or window, open up FindIt and search for and open up RefWorks If you haven’t registered before with RefWorks, you should so now SLIDE 41: Jon Andrews, Subject Advisor, Barnes Library j.m.andrews@bham.ac.uk Back in Medline, look for the Export button above the results on screen, and RefWorks in the dropdown menu: then Export Citation SLIDE 42: The results should then transfer to the Last Imported folder in RefWorks If they don’t, check for pop-up blockers or just select “Click this link to open the document” in the Ovid screen SLIDE 43: Then transfer the results to a specific named folder in RefWorks SLIDE 44: In Word, there should be a RefWorks (or Proquest) tab at the top You may need to Login: there’s a long code for this in RefWorks itself under Tools – Write n Cite SLIDE 45: Use that code to login on the RefWorks/Proquest tab in Word SLIDE 46: Once logged in, go to Insert Citation – insert new citation Either retrieve a reference from your named folder, or search using the search bar at the top SLIDE 47: Select the reference and insert the citation in the text Continue for further citations SLIDE 48: Use Bibliography Options to generate a bibliography automatically at the end of your document It’s easy to change the referencing Style if needed THE NEXT SLIDES ACKNOWLEDGE ILLUSTRATIONS AND PROVIDE USEFUL LINKS IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SUBJECT ADVISOR AT THE LIBRARY (JON ANDREWS –j.m.andrews@bham.ac.uk ) Jon Andrews, Subject Advisor, Barnes Library j.m.andrews@bham.ac.uk ... these limits on the last search in the history above Click on Additional Limits for further options SLIDE 30 : Age groups and publication types are two very useful additional limits: once specifics... reduce the options you have to narrow and refine searches Select Medline from 1946 to the nearest date Ignore the Medline options which included nonindexed citations Click directly on the title... like a skeleton for the body of Medline Clicking directly on the term in question will show where it occurs within that hierarchy, also called a subject tree SLIDE 14: Hypertension occurs within