Literature Searching: hints and tips for developing search strategies and running searches

Transcription

1 Literature Searching: hints and tips for developing search strategies and running searches Kathy Murray, medical librarian

2 Outline Being thorough Formulating the question Identifying where to search Finding search terms Developing search strategy Run the search Download results Reporting search strategies when you publish 2

3 Being Thorough Goal is to find all available literature on a particular topic often to answer a specific question Expectation is to retrieve all relevant papers on the topic If relevant studies are not found by your strategy, this can lead to bias in your conclusions Spend time to develop a comprehensive search strategy a critical step The literature search is the foundation for your research, particularly for systematic reviews. It is crucial to get it right! 3

4 Selecting a Topic/Question Topic/question should focus on and inform a practical issue or problem Define precisely. Terms used in the question should be defined as a question (PICO) 4

5 Formulating the Question PICO(S) method interventions for health Population / Patient Intervention or exposure Comparison Outcomes Setting or study type SPIDER Tool qualitative evidence synthesis or for mixed-methods research Sample Phenomenon of Interest Design Evaluation Research type (Cooke, A., Smith, D. & Booth, A (2012). Beyond PICO: the SPIDER tool for qualitative evidence synthesis. Qualitative Health Research, 22(1435). doi: / ) 5

6 Where to Search Key resources: 6

7 Beyond Databases References in good articles Google Scholar (starting from Library website) Gray literature ( Covers science, technology, biomedical science and more. Records are in English (article may be in a foreign language) and include bibliographic data. Document types include technical or research reports, doctoral dissertations, conference papers, official publications, and other types of grey literature. Hand searching journals Clinical trials (clinicaltrials.gov) Contact authors to identify additional unpublished work 7

8 Finding Search Terms Each library database is different and how you search them varies Search strategies may include a combination of textword (keyword) searching and controlled vocabulary terms Controlled vocabularies include: MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) used in PubMed, Medline, and with variations in CINAHL Amer. Psychological Associations s Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms used in PsycINFO Use indexing terms provided in the database for specific articles to expand your searches Keyword searching requires knowing the terms used in that profession or for that subject. As you uncover articles, new terms will be discovered. 8

9 Controlled Vocabularies PUBMED TEXTWORDS OR KEYWORDS Deep vein thrombosis DVT Leg thrombosis Thrombus Thrombotic Thrombolic Thromboembolism Thrombosis 9

10 CINAHL CONTROLLED VOCABULARY KEYWORD OR TEXTWORDS Stockings Hosiery Tights socks 10

11 Keyword Searching US/UK spelling variations Abbreviations Synonyms Acronyms Phrases Use key papers to identify terms and also controlled vocabulary terms assigned by indexers. PubMed and CINAHL may use different subjects to search similar concepts. PsycINFO has unique list of searching terms. 11

12 Scoping Search - Explore A broad, simplified search conducted to determine the size of the body of literature relevant to the topic as initially defined. This search is NOT comprehensive, nor does it consult all resources. Following the scoping search, you may choose to broaden or narrow the question/topic. Several iterations may be necessary. 12

13 Developing the Search Strategy Make a list of possible search terms and synonyms When using CINAHL or PubMed, search for their controlled vocabulary terms 13

14 Run the Search Enter terms and keywords Combine concepts using AND, OR Apply limits such as date, language, age group Apply publication type filters: peer-review, systematic reviews, evidence-based, qualitative research Several iterations may be necessary. Save a copy of the final search strategy this will often be reported in publications 14

15 Download Results Save citations to RefWorks Sign up for a new account: Export citations from different library databases CINAHL: 1) Save articles to the folder; 2) Go to the Folder View; 3) Select all; 4) Export (right hand column) PubMed is a bit different. Use this document as your guide: 15

16 Reporting Search Strategies For homework assignment, capture CINAHL search history using this guide: When reporting the literature search when publishing, generally include: Copy of the entire search strategy for each database Date that the search was conducted on each database Search platform used, e.g., EBSCOHost or Proquest Total number of results retrieved Useful Resources Booth A. Brimful of STARLITE : towards standards for reporting literature searches. J Med Libr Assoc. 2006;94(4): , e PRISMA: transparent reporting of systematic Review and meta-analysis. 16

17 Takeaway Points Invest time in planning the search, identifying terms, and developing the search strategy. Set aside enough time to run the search, download the results, and export them to RefWorks or other reference management software. Repeat for each databases or resource. Save the search strategy for each database, record search details, and total results retrieved. If important papers are not found, the results of your study may be invalid. Speak to a librarian! 17

18 Your Librarian Kathy Murray Office hours in HSB 328 Beginning June 6th Tues 4p-6p & Thurs 9:30a 11:30a Call or to set up an appointment for other days/times 18