SEARCHING WITH SUBJECT TERMS FROM THE BIOETHICS THESAURUS

Transcription

1 SEARCHING WITH SUBJECT TERMS FROM THE BIOETHICS THESAURUS Beginning in 2007, a subset of GenETHX documents has been indexed with subject terms from the Bioethics Thesaurus. Bioethics Thesaurus terms are useful for quickly retrieving recent articles on a specific topic, or for developing complex search strategies involving more than one concept. Given the interdisciplinary nature of the field of bioethics, a number of the terms are unique. These terms cover a range of bioethical issues generally (e.g. Community Consent, Right Not To Know, Spousal Consent) as well as specific issues pertaining to the intersection of bioethics and genetics (e.g. Clinical Genetics, Genetic Relatedness Ties, Personal Genomics, and Synthetic Biology). Focusing on a Specific Topic in Bioethics Using the Bioethics Thesaurus Go to: http//bioethics.georgetown.edu and choose Search

2 Choose: GenETHX The GenETHX Basic Search will display. Go to: Bioethics Thesaurus Database

3 Search example: tribal consent Enter words for your search in the query box, using the truncation symbol + to retrieve all forms of a word (e.g. trib+ for tribe, tribes, tribal). Retain All of the Words in the Search Criteria drop-down menu, and All fields in the Fields drop-down menu. Optional: set Display per page to MAX. The search for tribal consent retrieves the thesaurus term Community Consent, and displays the date it was added to the thesaurus, its Scope Note (i.e., definition), and other, broader thesaurus terms that conceptually include Community Consent: Community Participation and Third Party Consent.

4 Using the Return Arrow in the upper left of the screen twice, return to GenETHX and enter the following search strategy in the query box: *community consent or community consent Note: an asterisk (*) before a thesaurus term indicates it is a major topic in the document. Optional: set Display per page to MAX.

5 The search strategy *community consent or community consent is an inclusive search that retrieves any document addressing the issue of consent in population research across a broad spectrum of clinical settings by using both thesaurus and free-text terms throughout the record. Sample of records retrieved [partial display]:

6 Focusing on a Specific Topic in Genetics and Ethics Using the GenETHX Advanced Search Go to the GenETHX Advanced Search screen by clicking on that phrase in the Basic Search screen For a targeted search to retrieve indexed documents focusing on a specific topic in genetics and ethics, place quotes around a thesaurus term preceded by an asterisk (e.g. *clinical genetics ) and select Genetics Thesaurus Keyword from the Advanced Search screen Subject drop-down menu. The asterisk (*) before a thesaurus term indicates that the term represents a major topic in the content of the document.

7 Database Search Tips (This table is accessible at: Search Operators Any of These = All Words = Exact Phrase = Truncation / Wild Card symbol = OR AND ADJ (Note: placing quotes around a name (e.g. "American Medical Association") or a term (e.g. "HIV infection") will search for the phrase exactly as entered within the quotes. Operators or wildcards will not work when placed within quotes.) + (Note: truncation does not work within quoted phrases or the subject phrases.) Fields Formats Searching Author: Corporate authors The full name of an agency, a commission, or other government body; part of the name can be entered in quotes or the Exact Phrase operator can be selected Personal author Single author Coauthors Various authors Truncated author name search Enter lastname, firstname spelled out fully (not case-sensitive) Enter author's first and last names and select All Words (e.g. leroy walters) Enter author names in quotes in lastname firstname format and select All Words (e.g. "walters leroy" "juengst eric") Enter author names in quotes in lastname firstname format and select Any of These (e.g. "walters leroy" "juengst eric") If not sure of the spelling of a personal or corporate name, enter the term with a plus-sign at the end (e.g. walters l+), at the beginning (+alters), or in the middle (e.g. wa+ers) and select All Words. Title: No format required Free-text searchable

8 Journal Title or Book Publisher: While journal and publisher names are spelled out fully in the database, individual words in journal titles or names can be entered for retrieval purposes Thesaurus Terms (GenETHX database) Subject: 1) Controlled vocabulary from the Bioethics Thesaurus (Note: the Thesaurus database will open in a new tab or window) 2) NRC classification scheme numbers or subject terms Click on Browse Bioethics Thesaurus and enter the term into the query box. More than one term can be entered in the box at a time and the retrieval will contain cites with either of the terms. If the term contains more than one word, use the ADJ operator between the words or put the term in quotes. To find a term that is either a major (*) term or general term, use the truncation symbol (+) before the first word. Note: Use the ADJ operator between words in a term if using the (*) or (+) symbol.) One or more of the classification scheme numbers can be entered in the query box. You can search for a classification number to get everything in the database on a selected topic, e.g. search 9.4 to see literature on resource allocation, or for managed care. Limits: Languages: Dates: Plurals: Search only content available online: Display: Documents Per page: Defaults to all languages (NOTE: Diacritics are not always used in this database) Defaults to all dates Defaults to ON retrieval will include plural forms of search terms When checked, will limit retrieval to those citations with links to web sites where individual articles can be retrieved through the site's search engine Defaults to 20; the maximum number is 325; for saving and printing larger retrievals, set the display to the maximum

9 General Searching Tips To modify a search, click on your browser's Back button. To clear the query boxes, click on the Reset button on the query screen. To return to the search screen from within a retrieval display, click on the magnifying glass icon Saving Retrieval Results You can save the citations within each display page to your local computer by clicking on the "Save All" box. When prompted, click Save to Disk, then provide a file name and choose the folder in which you want to save the file and click on Save. NOTE: Citations must be saved before going to the next page of results. For large retrieval results, set the display to the maximum number of cites (usually 325). Retrieval results larger than 325 can be saved/printed 325 citations at a time. To Print results, use your browser's Print function.