This document provides an overview of concepts and skills for information retrieval and literature research. It discusses the importance of information literacy and introduces databases like MEDLINE, PubMed, EBSCO and Ovid that can be used to search for medical literature. It explains how Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) are used to index articles in MEDLINE and highlights features of the Ovid interface like selecting MeSH terms and exporting bibliographies. Finally, it demonstrates how Boolean logic can be applied to construct search queries using keywords related to a topic or research question.

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Concepts and Skills for Information Retrieval
and Literature Research
John Pell
Assistant Professor
Hunter College Libraries

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To Follow Along:
Go to
libguides.library.hunter.cuny.edu/ph755
Links and documents are all here.

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Overview
The Big Picture
Basics of Full-Text Retrieval at
Hunter
MeSH Terms and the
Structure of MEDLINE
Boolean Logic

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The Big Picture
Why Learn about the information retrieval?

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Information Literacy
 A few key information literacy performance indicators related to
this workshop:
 Investigating the scope, content, and organization of information
retrieval systems
 Selecting controlled vocabulary specific to the discipline or
information retrieval source
 Constructing a search strategy using appropriate commands for the
information retrieval system selected (e.g., Boolean operators,
truncation, and proximity for search engines.)
“Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education”(2000)
http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency.

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Basics of Full-Text Retrieval
Getting from a citation to the actual document.

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Setting up Google Scholar to Work
with Hunter College Libraries
Start with Scholar Preferences

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Setting up Google Scholar to Work
with Hunter College Libraries
In “Library Links” search for Hunter
College Library and select it.

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Retrieving Full Text from Google
Scholar
Once your Scholar Preferences are
configured, full text links at Hunter will
display for available articles.

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Verifying the Availability of Journals
at Hunter Libraries
You can access a search of Hunter’s
journal holdings through this link.

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Verifying the Availability of Journals
at Hunter Libraries
Details about online and print
availability and coverage display in the
search results.
NOTE: This search is will not tolerate
errors in spelling or variations in
wording.

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MeSH Terms and the
Structure of MEDLINE

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Here are four different interfaces
that can be used to search the
MEDLINE database:

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EBSCO

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OVID

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Web of Knowledge

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Pubmed

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The basic structure of the MEDLINE
database behind each of these
interfaces is the same.

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Important Things to Understand
about MEDLINE and PubMed:
 All of the records in MEDLINE are indexed with NLM's
controlled vocabulary, the Medical Subject Headings.
 PubMed contains in-process citations which provide a record
for an article before it is indexed with MeSH and added to
MEDLINE or converted to out-of-scope status
 Citations that precede the date that a journal was selected for
MEDLINE indexing.
 CONTENT of PubMed > Content of MEDLINE

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MeSH Terms?
 MeSH is the National Library of Medicine's controlled
vocabulary. It consists of sets of terms in a hierarchical
structure that permits searching at various levels of specificity.
 Example of the Hierarchical Structure of MeSH:
 Movement
 Exercise
 Swimming
 “Entry Terms” help guide queries to MeSH categories
 For example, “Vitamin C” is an entry term for “Asorbic Acid”

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Important Information Captured by
MeSH Terms
 Population Characteristics
 Age, Race, Country of Origin
 Study Characteristics
 Clinical Trial, Literature Review, Meta-Analysis
 Important Facets of a Major Topic
 Prevention and Control, Etiology, Genetics

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Features of the Ovid Interface
The Advanced Search offers you the
option of selecting MeSH terms
related to your search terms.

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Features of the Ovid Interface
When selecting specific subheadings,
the number of articles available under
that heading is displayed.

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Features of the Ovid Interface
Options for analyzing and
manipulating your search history are
accessible on the same page as your
search results.

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Features of the Ovid Interface
You can export a formatted
bibliography into Word, PDF, or a
citation manager.

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Boolean Logic
The structure of a MEDLINE query

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Using Boolean Logic to translate a
topic into a search query:
Statement of Topic or Research
Question
Keyword 1 Keyword 2 Keyword 3
(A OR B OR C) AND (D OR E OR F) AND (G OR H OR I)*
*Where A – I are terms related to the keywords above

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In-Class Exercise

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Before You Go
 Download the In-Class Exercise
 Complete the Exercise
 Email it to jpell@hunter.cuny.edu
 This is important! It counts as your participation
and attendance for this session!