Nursing 479: Finding Literature for a Literature Review

1
Nursing 479 Finding Literature for a Literature
Review

• Heather Ganshorn, MLIS
• Liaison Librarian for Nursing

2
In this session we will cover

• Defining what information is needed
• Accessing the needed information
• Developing a search strategy
• Carrying out a search in different databases
• Systematic reviews
• Finding theses and dissertations
• Locating items in the library catalogue
• How to get materials we dont have
• Evaluating the information youve found

3
Defining Your Information Need

• Phrase your topic in the form of a question, then
  identify the key concepts.
• What knowledge do rural teens have of STDs?

4
Defining Your Information Need

• Where will you search for this information?
• U of C has many databases, which focus on
  different areas
• CINAHL for nursing-focused research
• Medline and EMBASE index medical journals
• Ageline for geriatric research
• Cochrane Systematic Reviews for evidence-based
  reviews of recent literature
• ProQuest Digital Dissertations for theses and
  dissertations

5
Accessing the Information Developing a Search
Strategy

• You want to find articles that contain the
  concepts
• knowledge
• AND
• rural
• AND
• teens
• AND
• STDs

6
Developing a Search Strategy

• Brainstorm for synonyms join them with OR
• (knowledge OR awareness)
• AND
• rural
• AND
• (teen OR adolescent)
• AND
• (STD OR sexually transmitted disease)

7
Order of Operations

• Do your OR searches first, then combine sets, or
  put OR searches in parentheses
• Why? The database reads from left to right
• teens or adolescents and STDs will be read
  different from STDs and teens or adolescents
• Parentheses tell the program to do your OR
  searches as a set, then combine the sets using AND

8
Keyword vs. Subject Searching

• Keyword Searching
• Searches the text of the record for the words you
  input
• Advantage
• allows you to search for terms that dont appear
  on the subject headings list, often because they
  are too new
• Disadvantages
• You must think of synonyms, alternate spellings
• Some words have more than one meaning
• Just because the word appears in the abstract,
  doesnt mean its the focus of the article

9
Keyword vs. Subject Searching

• Subject Searching (usually best and most precise)
• Some indexes use a list of subject headings,
  assigned to articles on that topic
• Advantages
• One subject heading is chosen to represent a
  concept no need to think of synonyms
• An indexer has assigned the term, so you know the
  article is actually about that subject
• Disadvantages
• New concepts are not on subject list
• Most indexes have no subject headings, or poor
  ones

10
Medline/CINAHL Subject Headings

• Hierarchy
• broader and narrower terms
• Canada
• Alberta
• Edmonton
• Calgary
• Montgomery
• Scenic Acres
• British Columbia
• Use Explode to include narrower, related terms

11
Medical Indexes Todays Passwords

• Go to gateway.ovid.com
• UserID hkncaltrain
• Password training
• Note The web site is only for todays training.
  In future, access Medline from the librarys
  Article Indexes page.

12
Medline Search

• knowledge
• AND
• rural
• AND
• teens
• AND
• STDs

• Note with Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL and other
  indexes with subject headings, you dont need to
  brainstorm for synonyms or use truncation

13
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

• Several Cochrane groups focusing on different
  areas of medicine
• They review current literature, only choose
  articles with sound methodology
• They synthesize the results of many studies and
  draw conclusions
• Their bibliographies are very useful
• Keyword searching, so not as specific

14
Cochrane Search

• Question Are anti-depressants effective for
  elderly patients?
• anti-depressant OR
• AND
• elder OR

15
Dont Forget to Look at the Reference Lists!

• The reference lists at the end of articles and
  reviews are a great way to find additional
  articles.

16
ProQuest Digital Dissertations

• The online version of Dissertations Abstracts
• Keyword searching
• We often cant get the full dissertation through
  document delivery
• But the abstract and the 24-page preview are
  still useful
• Search medical indexes for articles by the same
  author

17
Search in ProQuest

• (knowledge OR awareness)
• AND
• rural
• AND
• (teen? OR adolescent?)
• AND
• (STD? OR sexually transmitted disease?)

18
Using the Library Catalogue

• Sample citation from Medline
• Johnson LS. Rozmus C. Edmisson K. Adolescent
  sexuality and sexually transmitted diseases
  attitudes, beliefs, knowledge, and values.
  Journal Article. Research. Tables/Charts
  Journal of Pediatric Nursing. 14(3)177-85, 1999
  Jun.

19
When the Library Doesnt Have It

• Document Delivery (see handout)
• Helen Lee Robertson Document Delivery Librarian
  at the Health Sciences Lilbrary

20
Evaluating Your Sources

• A Cochrane review offers the highest quality
  evidence
• Peer-reviewed journal articles are next, but may
  still have flaws
• Think about the methodology are there flaws in
  sample selection or other aspects of the study?
  Apply standards of research that youve learned
  in class

21
Lets Build a Search Strategy for This Assignment

• Research Question Does circumcision result in a
  reduction in HIV infection rates in Africa?
• What are the key concepts?
• What are some synonyms?
• What sources should you search? Dont limit
  yourself to what weve covered check our list
  of medical databases to see if there are other
  relevant ones

22
Need Help?

• Contact me (see handout for my contact info)
• Visit the reference desk in the Health Sciences
  Library or the Information Commons
• Check out the Nursing Library web page (web
  address on handout)