Searching for Literature
Searching for Literature
Information skills (the skills necessary to locate information (or evidence) from a range of sources) are essential for undertaking coursework, carrying out your dissertation and as a qualified health and social care practitioner an essential part of evidence based practice.
This interactive web resource aims to help you gain practical skills in searching electronic databases - key sources of health care information. It is designed for you to complete at your own pace (as many times as you wish) and allow you to monitor your progress. It may be used in conjunction with theoretical sessions about searching the literature that explain the techniques involved.
The techniques involved are relevant to all sources of information and types of literature searches, but for simplicity the exercises on this web site concentrate on searching Medline - a major source of biomedical information - using the OVID search interface. Once you have mastered the techniques, it is advised that you select another database and/or search interface and practice searching - either using the examples given or on a topic of your choice. Although the OVID interface is used to demonstrate the search techniques, once learnt the techniques are transferable to the majority online resources. Alternative databases and search interfaces often present information on screen differently to that you are already familiar with. This can appear daunting at first, so practice is important.
The aim of this tutorial is to:
- Help you understand the techniques involved in undertaking a literature search
- Demystify some of the jargon associated with computer based literature searching
- Help you carry out searches efficiently and effectively
- Enable you to practice literature searching techniques
Part of this web based resource is interactive - you will be searching the Medline database, that has been made available by Information Services at the University of Salford (BIOMED Ovid Interface). You can also access the database from the electronic resources menu on your desktop. To use the database you will need an ATHENS password.
The programme automatically logs users out of the database if it is not used for 15 minutes. You may find this happens whilst you are completing the course. If this happens re-enter your username and password and select the option to allow you to continue with your earlier search.
To use this web based resource whilst searching on Medline, you will need to open a second 'window' in your Internet browser (e.g. Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator). To do this click on 'file' in the top left hand corner of your screen, click on 'new', and click on 'window'. You can then use the 'toggle' function to move between the two windows.
To use this tutorial:
Click on the buttons in the grey box on the right hand of the screen, which provide the 7 key steps to an effective search. Begin the tutorial by learning how a database works.
Funding for the development and piloting of
this interactive web based resource was provided by:
Teaching and Learning
Quality Improvement Scheme (TLQIS)
Education Development Unit
University of Salford