1. Literature searching for
health promotion
Finding journal articles and more
http://unihub.mdx.ac.uk/
study/library/

2. Before we start...
• Always use Mozilla Firefox as browser within
University
• Click the icon on the Desktop
• Login to myUniHub

3. Today we are going to cover...
• Finding the evidence
• Searching effectively for journal articles
• Evaluating information
• Using information ethically (citing and
referencing)

4. Getting started...
Turn over the sheet in front of you

5. What Is Evidence?
“Information or signs indicating whether
something is true or valid”
Compact Oxford Dictionary for Students (2006)
You will need to provide appropriate
evidence to support any claims or arguments
made in your assignments

6. Evidence-Based Practice
“…involves the conscientious use of current
best evidence in making decisions about
patient care…”
Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: a guide to
best practice (2005)

7. The hierarchy of evidence
Source:Evidence-Based Practice in the Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago.
http://ebp.lib.uic.edu/nursing/node/12 Under Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC-SA 2.5

8. Different assignments...
• ...need different types/combinations of
evidence
• Can you think of examples?

9. Finding the evidence
• Systematic Reviews
• RCTs
• Other experimental
studies (cohort
studies, case control
studies)
• Non-experimental
studies e.g. Case
reports
• Expert opinion
• Cochrane Library
• Peer-reviewed journals
• Peer-reviewed journals
• Peer-reviewed journals
• e.g. NICE guidelines &
pathways, evidencebased local policies

10. Starting your search

11. Keywords
• Really worth a 5 minute brainstorm before
you search – it will save you time later!
• Searching one word for your concept will
not bring you all the results (and
sometimes none!)
Not everyone uses the same terminology
for one idea
11

12. Today we’re going to search for
literature on...
How health promotion can be
effective for physical activity
What are the important concepts in this topic?
Are there other words for the same ideas? Ways
we could make it more specific?

13. Keywords
1. Pick out your concepts and separate them
– Health promotion, physical activity
2. Think of other words that are similar to your
key words but represent the same concepts
– e.g. Health promotion, education,
interventions, program(me)s

14. Planning your search - keywords
3. BE PREPARED
Think of narrower words that fit into your
concepts so that if you produce too many results,
you can focus on one area of that topic / research
• NOTE: if you narrow ALL your concepts you will
make your life too hard – choose one or two
14

18. Exercise 2
Use the database / search engine you’ve been
assigned:
Look for resources on:
“health promotion and physical activity”
• Remember to try other related keywords too
• Fill in the relevant section on the sheet and be
prepared to feed back

19. Google Scholar

20. NICE Evidence

21. Cochrane Library

22. CINAHL

23. Limiting your search in CINAHL
• Date
• Population studied –
age, gender?
• Type of article / study
• Research article option
is useful

24. InterNurse

25. Summon
• Simple database useful as a starting point
• Will cross search library resources: books, journal databases, newspaper
articles
• Remember - NOT subject specific

26. Where’s the full text?
• If using Summon make sure you have ticked ‘Full text
online’
• If you find a useful reference and you’re not sure if we
have it:
- Check the library catalogue – Journal A-Z for Journal title
• In CINAHL/MEDLINE, ‘Check library holdings’ will do this
for you
• Check Google Scholar for links to open access papers

27. Access troubleshooting
•
•
•
•
For best results, set the Middlesex cookie
myUniHub> My Study > My Library
Athens login = UniHub login
N.B. If Middlesex isn’t mentioned on the
screen, choose Alternative login
• Troubleshooting guide on library subject
pages:
http://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/accessingelectroni
cresources

28. But it’s not in the Library!
•
•
•
•
•
Inter Library Loans
SCONUL Access
British Library
RCN
Institutional repositories
http://www.opendoar.org/find.php
• More information: ‘Other Libraries’ page on Health
Promotion guide

29. But is it any good?
Is it what you need and is it trustworthy?
What criteria would you use to assess the
relevance and quality of the information?

30. The C A R P test

31. C A R P
• Currency - How old is the information? When
was it last updated?
• Authority - Who is the author / creator? What
is their background?
Is the article published in a scholarly/peer
reviewed journal?
• Relevance - Is this what I need? Will it answer
my question? Is it at an appropriate level?
• Purpose - What is the purpose of the
information e.g. financial gain, propaganda,
academic research, etc.

32. Exercise 3
• Work in groups
• 4 resources and evaluation sheet
• For each resource, decide as a group if it
meets the criteria.
• No need to read the whole thing!

33. Referencing
• Is very important
• Acknowledges other people’s work (avoids
plagiarism)
• Shows you’ve read around the subject
• Supports your discussion and arguments
• Gets you better marks!
• Enables others to find your references

34. Referencing

35. On the front page of the HP guide...

36. Referencing
• Have a look at the two reference lists
• Which is ‘better’? Why? List your reasons on
the back of the sheet

37. Need help?
• Librarians in the Specialist Zone (1st floor) core
hours Monday - Friday
• Ask a Librarian http://askalibrarian.mdx.ac.uk/
• Health Promotion Library Subject Guide
http://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/healthpromotion