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Saeid Safari
MD, Anesthesiologist
Editorial Manager of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine
drsafari.s@gmail.com
How to Conduct a Literature Review
Searching references in medical journalism
S a e i d S a f a r i
Objectives
 List four categories of information resources
 Apply selection criteria to identify appropriate
information resource
 List five databases to find primary studies
 Strategize and execute a systematic, explicit and
reproducible search of the biomedical literature
Searching for scientific problem
Review of literature
H y p o t h e s i s
Aims of research
M e t h o d s
Plan of research
Research
Results
Researchers work in graphic form
Aztec Pyramide
S a e i d S a f a r i
What’s a Research Lit Review?
A research literature review is a systematic, explicit and
reproducible method for identifying, evaluating, and synthesizing
the existing body of completed and recorded work produced by
researchers, scholars, and practitioners.*
*Fink, A. (2005). Conducting Research Literature Reviews. London: Sage.
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Level of Evidence Pyramid
Qualitative Studies
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Criteria for Selecting a Resource
1. Soundness of evidence-based approach
2. Comprehensiveness and specificity
3. Ease of use
4. Availability
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Questions to Ask
 Bias? Conflict of interest?
 Evidence grading or ranking applied?
 Links?
 Discipline coverage?
 Consistent and quick to search?
 Cost?
 Available in my location?
HOW TO SEARCH STUDIES
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A Comprehensive Search is...
 Systematic
 Explicit
 Reproducible
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7 tasks in the Research Lit Review
1. Selecting research questions
2. Selecting your sources
3. Choosing search terms
4. Running your search
5. Applying practical screening criteria
6. Applying methodological screening criteria
7. Synthesizing the results
SELECTING RESEARCH QUESTIONS
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Why do you need a research question?
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Scenario
You’re applying for a grant to support your research on
management of patients with atrial fibrillation.
Think of a question related to this topic...
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Possible questions
Broad:
 What is the prevalence of atrial fibrillation?
Narrow:
 What costs are associated with hospitalization for atrial fibrillation?
Very Narrow:
 What strategies have been utilized in Iran to reduce length of stay for
patients with atrial fibrillation?
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How questions influence search results
Relevancy
Retrieval
(# of search
results)
Broad
Questions
Narrow
Questions
High =
lots of
articles
Low =
very
few
articles
High = directly
relevant articles
Low = mostly
irrelevant articles
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Sample Search Statements
 I am looking for articles about osteoarthritis of the knee.
 13,886 articles in PubMed
 I am looking for RCTs on arthroscopic surgery for
osteoarthritis of the knee that include placebo surgery as a
control.
 9 articles in PubMed
 I am looking for RCTs on arthroscopic surgery conducted
in latino females with type 1 diabetes mellitus.
 0 articles in PubMed
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Stage In Searching
1. Define search topics
2. Choose appropriate search terms/keywords that represent the
topic
3. Decide where to search/which sources to use (e.g. library
catalog, online databases)
4. Develop search strategy by optimizing search tools
5. Observe search results
6. Revise the search as necessary
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Turn your statement into a strategy
1. Break you question into concepts
2. Identify subject headings for each concept
3. Identify keywords for each concept
 Tips:
 Use a “target article” to help identify search terms
 Use a strategy worksheet to keep track of your terms:
http://www.lib.uwo.ca/files/taylor/grad/Search_Strategy_Worksheet.pdf
S a e i d S a f a r i
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Does hand washing prevent MRSA? in the
ICU?
Hand washing MRSA ICU Prevention
Handwashing
[MeSH]
Methicillin-Resistant
Staphylococcus
aureus [MeSH]
Intensive care units
[MeSH] +
Handwash$.mp. Methicillin resistant
staphylococcus
aureus.mp.
Intensive care
unit$.mp.
Prevent$.mp.
Hand wash.mp. MRSA.mp. ICU.mp.
Hand disinfect.mp. Critical care
unit$.mp.
Surgical scrub$.mp.
Hand clean$.mp.
SELECTING YOUR SOURCES
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Lit reviews depend on data from seven
sources
1. Online public bibliographic databases
2. Commercial bibliographic databases
3. Specialized bibliographic databases
4. Manual or “hand searches” of references lists
5. “Grey literature”
6. Web reports
7. Expert opinions
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Where to search
Bibliographic Databases
 Medicine
 PubMed (or Ovid MEDLINE), EMBASE, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO
 Multidisciplinary
 Scopus
 Web of Science
 Nursing and Allied Health
 CINAHL
Websites
 Associations, Organizations & Government
 World Health Organization, Health Canada, Canadian Medical Association, etc.
Other
 “Grey Literature”
 Dissertations & Theses, SCOPUS (conference proceedings), Web search engines
CHOOSING SEARCH TERMS
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Different databases have different subject
headings
 Tips:
 Select subject headings that are the closest match for your concept
 Pay attention to “explode” commands – some databases will search
related headings by default, others will not
Database Subject Headings
Medline MeSH
EMBASE EMTREE
CINAHL CINAHL Headings
Cochrane Library MeSH
PsycINFO Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms
Scopus, Web of Science N/A
Which term explodes?
A. Bird Diseases B. Neutropenia
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Identifying concepts & MeSH headings
Which concepts are contained in the question:
Does hydration decrease incidence of delirium
at the end of life?
Find the MeSH heading(s) for each concept & add them to your worksheet
AND AND
OR exp Fluid Therapy/ Delirium/ exp Terminal Care/
OR Palliative Care/
exp Terminally Ill/
OR
OR
OR
Concept #1
Ovid MEDLINE strategy
Concept #2 Concept #3
Subject
Headings
Text
Words
Blank worksheets: http://muhclibraries.mcgill.ca/SearchStrategyWorksheet.doc
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Key Operators in Ovid
Operator Command Example
* Find alternate endings to this
word
nurs* [will find nurse, nursing,
nurses]
.tw. Search for this term in the Title
and Abstract fields
anxiety.tw.
adj Search for one term within x
number of terms from another
patient adj3 anxiety [will find
patient within three words of
anxiety]
AND Find articles where both terms
appear
smoking AND cessation
OR Find articles where either term
appears
smoking OR tobacco
AND AND
OR exp Fluid Therapy/ Delirium/ exp Terminal Care/
OR Palliative Care/
exp Terminally Ill/
OR
hydrat*.tw. deliri*.tw. (terminal* adj4 patient*).tw.
OR
fluid*.tw. palliative.tw.
OR
water.tw. end of life.tw.
Concept #1
Ovid MEDLINE strategy
Concept #2 Concept #3
Subject
Headings
Text
Words
RUNNING YOUR SEARCH
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Running your search(es)
 Start with your first concept
 Search for the subject headings first
 Then search text words
 Combine these synonymous searches with OR using your
search history
 Repeat for your second, third, and subsequent concepts
 Finally, combine large search results set with AND
Running your search(es)
Search #2 =
Search #3 =
Search #4 =
Search #5 = #1 OR #2 OR #3 OR #4
Search #1 =
Concept 1
Search #6 =
Search #7 =
Search #8 =
Search #9 =
Concept 2
Search #10 = #6 OR #7 OR #8 OR #9
Search #11 = #5 AND #10
Results
Please complete the following search in
Ovid Medline
AND AND
OR exp Fluid Therapy/ Delirium/ exp Terminal Care/
OR Palliative Care/
exp Terminally Ill/
OR
hydrat*.tw. deliri*.tw. (terminal* adj4 patient*).tw.
OR
fluid*.tw. palliative.tw.
OR
water.tw. end of life.tw.
Concept #1 Concept #2 Concept #3
Subject
Headings
Text
Words
APPLYING PRACTICAL SCREENING
CRITERIA
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Screening
 Two kinds: practical and methodological
 Use practical screening to identify a broad range of
potentially useful studies
 Use methodological screening to identify the best available
studies
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Practical Screening Criteria –examples
1. Date of publication
 only studies conducted between 2005 and 2010
2. Participants or subjects
 only children 6 to 12 years of age
3. Publication language
 only materials written in English or French
4. Research design
 only clinical trials
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Apply Practical Screens
 Add the following screens (limits) to your combined search
result set:
 English Language
 Publication Year: 2001 – Current
 Humans
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LIMITS/FILTERS
• Most databases offer limit functions to help users limit
search results that are too broad or too many
• Limits are commonly specified according to:
 - date of publication
 - type of publications (books, journals, news, etc)
 - age group
 - language
 - sex (male/female)
 - type of files
NEXT STEPS
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Working with your results
 Save or export search results into a citation manager (i.e.,
Endnote)
 Remove duplicates
 Remove inappropriate studies by applying methodological
screens
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Methodological Screening Criteria - some
questions to ask
 Is the study’s research design internally & externally valid?
 Are the data sources used in the study reliable & valid?
 Are the analytic methods appropriate?
 Are the results meaningful in practical & statistical terms?*
*Fink, A. (2005). Conducting Research Literature Reviews. London: Sage.
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Moving to another source
 Retain as much of your original strategy as possible
 Recognize that subject headings will be different (or non-
existent)
 Keep track of your search terms using new worksheets
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Hand searching and final steps
 Locate the reference lists for selected articles*
 Identify new articles that have cited your articles*
 Identify key journals and “hand search” their issues
 Test your search strategy by checking to see if a few “target
articles” appear in the results
* Use Web of Science or Scopus
SYNTHESIZING THE RESULTS
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Use your results to...
1. Describe current knowledge about your research topic
2. Support the need for and significance of new research
3. Explain research findings
4. Describe the quality of a body of research*
*Fink, A. (2005). Conducting Research Literature Reviews. London: Sage.
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Tips For Effective Searches
1. Plan your search – identify the words that represent the topic of
your search
2. Avoid using too broad or general terms, use specific terms
instead to get limited but relevant results.
3. Use limit/filter functions as necessary
4. Create an account. Most online databases allow you to sign up
for an account/personal folder in their database that helps you
manage searches, search results or references, set up
preferences, alerts, and many others.
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Research strategy guide for finding quality,
credible sources
1. Get organized
2. Articulate your topic
3. Locate background information
4. Identify your information needs
5. List keywords and concepts for search engines and
databases
6. Consider the scope of your topic
7. Conduct your searches
8. Evaluate the information sources you found
9. Analyze and adjust your research strategy
S a e i d S a f a r i
 Basic computer skill: More than
 Windows
 Word
 PowerPoint
 Excel
 SPSS
 Adobe photoshop
 Medline search
 Endnote
Basic skills for a scientist
S a e i d S a f a r i
 Paper reading
 Critically and actively
 Ability to recognize problems in the experimental
design
 Ability to recognize key sentences
Basic skills for a scientist
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 Understanding and use of the literature
 Ability to evaluate a paper critically and accurately
 Familiarity to a broad-based, relevant and current literature
 Ability to generate useful notes while reading the literature
 Ability to generate interesting and important questions
 Ability to generate original ideas on the literature
Basic skills for a scientist
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 Experimental design
 Ability to get techniques to work predictably and reproducibly
 Ability to generate high quality data with both positive and negative
controls that can give clear cut answer to a question
 Ability to find the best available information from the best sources
 Ability to interpret fully your data, generate next question or hypothesis
and design the next experiment
 Ability to troubleshoot and solve a technical problem
 Resistance to doing an incomplete experiment using whatever reagents
or cells that happen to be available ”to see what happens”
Basic skills for a scientist
S a e i d S a f a r i
 Paper writing
 Ability to group data in a logical fashion into good figures
 Ability to make a good-looking figure
 Ability to interpret data in relation to existing literature and
come up with new ideas
 Ability to write a good and useful first draft
 Ability to use key sentence
Basic skills for a scientist
Scholar Google
Results in scholar Google
Google Scholar Profile
TUMS Digital Library
Databases
All EBM Reviews (OVID) MD Consult
Biological Abstract Nursing Consult
CINAHL with Full text Nursing Index
Cochrane Library OVID Databases
Drug Information Full Text OVID Medline
EndNote Web Scopus
Essential Science Indicators (ESI) UpToDate
Journal Citation Reports (JCR) Ulrichsweb
Library, Information Science &
Technology Abstracts (LISTA)
Web of Science
All EBM Reviews (OVID)
Cochrane Library
Drug Information Full Text
Scopus
UpToDate
ULRICHS WEB
MD Consult
Journals Collection
Ebsco MD Consult
Elsevier (Sciencedirect) MEDLIB
Emerald Oxford journals
Iran Medex OVID Journals
JAMA Journals Proquest
Wiley Springer
Magiran Thieme Medical Journals
ScienceDirect
Emerald Insight
Iran Medex
JAMA
Wiley Online Library
MagIran
MEDLIB
Springer Link
Theime
PubMed
MeSH (Medical Subject Headings)
MeSH Subheadings
MeSH
Result, PMID, Related Articles!
S a e i d S a f a r i
Useful Sites
 CADTH. Grey Matters: a practical search tool for
evidence-based medicine -
http://cadth.ca/en/resources/grey-matters
 Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews and
Interventions - http://www.cochrane-handbook.org/
 IOM (Institute of Medicine). Finding what works in health
care: standards for systematic reviews -
http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2011/Finding-What-Works-in-
Health-Care-Standards-for-Systematic-Reviews.aspx
S a e i d S a f a r i
Recap
 How would you describe a quality literature review?
 Synonymous searches are combined with ___
 Can you apply methodological screens with a database?
 Finally, please make your librarian happy by filling out your
EFFECTIVE MEDICAL
LITERATURE
SEARCHING
Objectives
1. Formulate your question
2. Understand basic database structure
3. Use of Boolean Logic
4. Use Field Searching
5. Use of Controlled Vocabulary
6. Specialty techniques (truncation, etc.)
7. Building your search strategy
Reasons for Searching the Medical
Literature
 To answer a specific patient case-related
question (clinical practice)
 To learn more about a medical topic
(education)
 To determine current best practice (guideline)
To give the best possible care to patients using
evidence-based medicine
Information Overload
PubMed (Medline)
contains over 18
million journal
citations going
back to ~1950
Year # new
citations
added*
2005 606,000
2006 623,089
2007 670,943
2008 671,904
*statistics from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/bsd_key.html
Asking the Question: PICO
 Patient, Population or Problem
 What are the characteristics of the patient or population?
 What is the condition or disease you are interested in?
 Intervention or exposure
 What do you want to do with this patient (e.g. treat, diagnose,
observe)?
 Comparison
 What is the alternative to the intervention (e.g. placebo,
different drug, surgery)?
 Outcome
 What are the relevant outcomes (e.g. morbidity, death,
complications)?
http://healthlinks.washington.edu/ebp/pico.html
Parsing the Question
 What are the main concepts in your question?
Sample question:
Does nutrition therapy improve decubitus
(pressure) ulcer healing in an elderly patient?
Concepts:
Nutrition therapy Decubitus/pressure ulcers
Ulcer healing Elderly patients
Treatment
efficacy
A database is an organized
collection of data.
 Bibliographic databases are searched through
many of the same techniques as any other
database
 Focus will be on PubMed, but these techniques
apply to ANY literature database
Examples of Records and Fields
Record # Author Title Publisher Date of
Publication
1 Jones KM Infectious
Diseases
Wiley 2001
2 Smith BR Medicine Cambridge
Univ. Press
2004
3 Johnson
AS
Cancer Elsevier 2005
4 Bradley PL Asthma Synergy 2003
Examples of Records and Fields
Record # Author Title Publisher Date of
Publication
1 Jones KM Infectious
Diseases
Wiley 2001
2 Smith BR Medicine Cambridge
Univ. Press
2004
3 Johnson
AS
Cancer Elsevier 2005
4 Bradley PL Asthma Synergy 2003
RED=RECORD BLUE=FIELD PURPLE = ONE PIECE OF DATA
Searching a Database
Different search interfaces do the same things in slightly different ways
Good search interfaces should provide
 Ability to search for a specific item
 Ability to search for related items to a known item
 Ability to search in a specific field or fields
 Ability to combine search terms using Boolean
Logic
 Ability to retrieve search results in a useful way
Boolean Logic
A British mathematician named George Boole
(1815-1864) developed an algebraic system of
logic that is now widely used in computer and
electronic systems including database
searching.
While Boole’s algebraic system can be complex, a
very simple form of Boolean Logic is used for
searching most bibliographic databases.
Boolean Operators
Standard Boolean Logic for database searching
uses 3 relationships among search terms.
AND
OR
NOT
It is both simple and powerful.
AND
BOTH terms included in any
results.
If a record has only one of
the two terms, it will not be
retrieved.
If the record has neither term,
it will not be retrieved.
What does this do to the
amount of records
retrieved?
OR
Only one (NOT both) of
the terms are in the
results
‘OR’ will retrieve the
record if both are
included.
What does OR do to the
amount of records
retrieved?
NOT
Excludes any results
containing the term
Records containing
both will not be
retrieved.
What does NOT do to
the amount of
records retrieved?
Using OR
“OR” groupings contain terms for the same
idea/concept and are usually put in parenthesis
(term OR term OR term)
where all terms are difference ways of
representing the same concept
(faculty OR teachers OR professors)
(students OR learners OR pupils)
Using AND
“AND” groupings contain terms for different
ideas/concepts and can combine OR groupings
Term AND (Term OR Term) where each
represents a different concept
heart attack AND smoking
Diabetes AND exercise
Cancer AND (treatment OR therapy)
Using NOT
“NOT” statements are usually put last and can
contain an “OR” grouping; they are often used
to get rid of a common subgroup
Students NOT dental
Diabetes NOT juvenile
Putting Them Together
1. Identify the concepts (Parse the question)
2. List specific terms for each concept
3. Put the terms for each concept in an OR
statements within parentheses
4. Combine OR statements with AND
5. Add any NOT statements to the end
Creating a Boolean Search
Concept 1
Influenza
Concept 2
Vitamin C
Concept 3
Treatment
Concept 4
helpfulness
Influenza Vitamin C Treatment Outcome
Flu Ascorbic acid Therapy Recovery
Orange Juice Management Success
QUESTION: Is Vitamin C helpful in treating the flu?
1. Identify concepts and list terms
Step 2
2. Make your OR statements, one per concept
 (influenza OR flu OR orthomyxovirus)
 (vitamin C OR ascorbic acid OR ascorbate)
 (treatment OR therapy OR management)
 (outcome OR recovery OR success)
Steps 3 and 4
3. Put “AND” between each of the OR statements
(influenza OR flu) AND (vitamin C OR ascorbic
acid OR orange juice) AND (treatment OR
therapy OR management) AND (outcome OR
recovery OR success)
4. Consider any NOT statements you might want
to add.
Note: NOT isn’t used very often
Parsing a Boolean Search
(emergency OR acute OR critical) AND
(treatment OR therapy OR management OR
care) AND (motor vehicle accident OR car
crash) NOT (pedestrian OR walking)
What are the four concepts?
What terms are used for each concept?
Which three concepts must be included in all records
found?
Which concept must not be included in any record found?
Beyond Basic Boolean
 Field Searching
 Controlled Vocabulary
 Subject vs. Keyword Searching
 Specialty Features
 Truncation
 Phrase searching
Field Searching
Almost all databases will provide you with some
ability to search a specific field or fields.
 Allows faster searching
 Allows more accurate searching
Not all databases may make all fields searchable.
Each search system will require a specific format.
All Field vs. Specific Field
Searches
I would like to find articles by John Smith.
 Search all fields: John Smith
 Search Author Field only: John Smith
I would like to find an article published in 1997.
 Search all fields: 1997
 Search Publication Date Field: 1997
Why waste time searching for a date in the author field or
an author in the volume field?
Formats for Field Searching
Different databases provide different formats for
specifying fields.
Most use field names or nicknames
 Field ‘tags’ OR ‘labels’
which may follow a period or be placed in brackets
or parentheses.
Some databases offer forms or drop-down menus.
PubMed
Field tags go in [] and follow term
Field tags can be used within Boolean queries
PubMed Field Tags
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=hel
ppubmed.section.pubmedhelp.Search_Field_D
escrip
[au] = author
[ti] = title
[tw] = textword
[tiab] = title and abstract
[mh] = medical subject
heading
[dp] = date of publication
[la] = language
[gr] = grant number
[ta] = journal name
[ad] = affiliation
OVID databases require field tags to follow the
term separated by a period.
Meharry.in and 2005.yr
Some databases, such as the ISI’s Web of
Science (Science Citation Index Expanded)
provide forms to fill out.
Select Field
from drop-
down menuSelect
Boolean
Operator
Combining Field Searches
Multiple field searches can be combined using
Boolean logic.
Find a 2005 article by an author named Hubble
about ankle fractures.
Combine with AND:
 2005 in date/year field
 Hubble in author field
 Ankle fractures in title field
2005[dp] AND Hubble[au] AND ankle fractures[ti]
Final Notes on Fields
 Each database provides its own specific fields
 Each database requires a specific format to
designate field searching
 When searching a new database, take a
moment to read the help documentation; most
will provide a list of fields and how to search
them.
Controlled Vocabulary
A controlled vocabulary is a set of established
terms where
 every term represents a single concept
 only one term is used for that concept
Another example
 How many words could you think of for the idea
of “cancer”?
 Cancer, tumor, malignancy, neoplasm, sarcoma…
 Articles in a database
 Article one: “Breast tumors in young women”
 Article two: “Surgery for prostrate cancer.”
 Article three: “Diagnosing Melanoma.”
All three articles are about types of cancer but
different terms are used in titles.
In a controlled vocabulary ONE word (i.e., cancer) is
chosen and placed in a special field, usually called a
subject field.
For all three articles
 Article one: “Breast tumors in young women”
 Article two: “Surgery for prostrate cancer.”
 Article three: “Diagnosing Melanoma.”
The subject term (concept term) “cancer” is placed in the
subject field by database indexers.
Now, Searching the database for cancer in the subject field
will identify all records about the concept of cancer even
if a different word for cancer is used.
 Search ‘cancer-in-subject-field’ finds all three articles
 How many articles would the search ‘cancer-in-title-field’
find?
Structure of Controlled Vocabulary
Broader
Concepts
Narrower
Concepts
More on Controlled Vocabulary
 “Expanding” = Search includes all narrower
terms beneath the searched term
 Some databases do it automatically, others don’t
 “Focusing” or “Majoring” = For a given item,
some subject terms are considered the major
focus; you can select to return only those
articles.
 Hip fracture[majr] = only give me articles where hip
fracture is an important concept
Subject vs. Keyword Searching
Controlled vocabulary
searching
 Matches terms against a
specific field in the record.
 You need to consult a
thesaurus (paper or online)
to find out what the
controlled vocabulary term
is for each concept.
Free-text (keyword)
searching
 Some concepts have many
synonyms. A free-text search
statement would mean
"OR"ing all those terms
together
 Matches terms against words
anywhere in record (abstract,
title, etc.).
Advantages to Controlled
Vocabularies
 Using the controlled vocabulary can make your search
more precise and easier.
 Increases the relevancy of results (fewer false drops)
 The indexers have already done much of the work for
you.
 Searchable tree structures of terms can help you find
new terms to use.
Problems with Controlled
Vocabularies
 NOT all databases use a controlled vocabulary
 New concepts take time to be added
 There is often a lag phase during which the
newest articles aren’t indexed
 Controlled vocabularies can contain some very
strange things and some concepts may not be
handled well
 The controlled vocabulary must be easily
searchable
Trying to understand what is and isn’t in a
particular controlled vocabulary can give you a
big headache!
Combining Subject and Keyword
Searching
To be comprehensive, it is often helpful to combine
subject and keyword searching
(diabetes mellitus[mh] OR diabetes[tw])
(sickle cell anemia[mh] OR sickle cell anaemia[ti])
Don’t forget…
 Boolean logic to combine terms
 Use of other search fields in combination with
subject terms
A Complex Search:
(head[mh] OR head[tw]) AND (wound and
injuries[mh] OR trauma[ti] OR injury[ti]) AND
2005[dp] AND English[la]
Some Specialty Features
 Truncation
 Phrase searching
 Neighboring and other rarer Boolean operators
Truncation
What about including the singular and plural versions of words
as well as other word variations?
For example: therapy, therapies, therapeutics,
You could combine them all in an OR relationship:
(therapy OR therapies OR therapeutics OR therapeutic)
But an easier way is by the use of truncation.
therap*
Each database handles truncation in a unique way.
The ‘*’ and ‘$’ are the most common wildcard symbols.
More on Truncation
Some examples:
Bacter$
Proc*
Vir?
Staph?
Be cautious when truncating!
If the word stem is too short, there may be too many
possible variations and you might pick up unrelated
terms.
For example, using proc* for finding procaine-like drugs will
also include words like proceedings and process.
Phrase Searching
 Sometimes you want to force the database to
search for a set of words in exact order
“fever of unknown origin”
Most databases will accept a phrase in quotes.
BUT…some do not handle phrases well and will
automatically break them up – usually ‘AND’-ing
the terms
Check how the database handles phrase
searching before doing it!
Limits Options
 Many databases provide “limits” pages that
make it easier for you to select common
options such as language, article type,
publication dates, human or animal, gender,
age groups, etc.
 Each database’s limits options are unique
 Most limits can be done ‘by hand’ using field
tags, but sometimes limit pages save time
PubMed Limits Page
Step-By-Step Search Construction
1. State the question
2. Identify the concepts in the question
3. For each concept, determine keywords and subject
terms
4. Specify field tags after terms if needed
5. Combine terms for the same concept with “OR” in
parenthesis
6. Combine “OR” statements with AND
7. Put any NOT terms at the end
Keep track of your searches, how many articles were
found total, and how many you selected as relevant
Example
 Question: What is the appropriate ED medical
management of adult patients with intracranial
hemorrhage (either trauma or spontaneous)?

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How to Conduct a Literature Review (ISRAPM 2014)

  • 1. Saeid Safari MD, Anesthesiologist Editorial Manager of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine drsafari.s@gmail.com How to Conduct a Literature Review Searching references in medical journalism
  • 2.
  • 3. S a e i d S a f a r i Objectives  List four categories of information resources  Apply selection criteria to identify appropriate information resource  List five databases to find primary studies  Strategize and execute a systematic, explicit and reproducible search of the biomedical literature
  • 4. Searching for scientific problem Review of literature H y p o t h e s i s Aims of research M e t h o d s Plan of research Research Results Researchers work in graphic form Aztec Pyramide
  • 5. S a e i d S a f a r i What’s a Research Lit Review? A research literature review is a systematic, explicit and reproducible method for identifying, evaluating, and synthesizing the existing body of completed and recorded work produced by researchers, scholars, and practitioners.* *Fink, A. (2005). Conducting Research Literature Reviews. London: Sage.
  • 6. S a e i d S a f a r i Level of Evidence Pyramid Qualitative Studies
  • 7. S a e i d S a f a r i Criteria for Selecting a Resource 1. Soundness of evidence-based approach 2. Comprehensiveness and specificity 3. Ease of use 4. Availability
  • 8. S a e i d S a f a r i Questions to Ask  Bias? Conflict of interest?  Evidence grading or ranking applied?  Links?  Discipline coverage?  Consistent and quick to search?  Cost?  Available in my location?
  • 9. HOW TO SEARCH STUDIES
  • 10. S a e i d S a f a r i A Comprehensive Search is...  Systematic  Explicit  Reproducible
  • 11. S a e i d S a f a r i 7 tasks in the Research Lit Review 1. Selecting research questions 2. Selecting your sources 3. Choosing search terms 4. Running your search 5. Applying practical screening criteria 6. Applying methodological screening criteria 7. Synthesizing the results
  • 13. S a e i d S a f a r i Why do you need a research question?
  • 14. S a e i d S a f a r i Scenario You’re applying for a grant to support your research on management of patients with atrial fibrillation. Think of a question related to this topic...
  • 15. S a e i d S a f a r i Possible questions Broad:  What is the prevalence of atrial fibrillation? Narrow:  What costs are associated with hospitalization for atrial fibrillation? Very Narrow:  What strategies have been utilized in Iran to reduce length of stay for patients with atrial fibrillation?
  • 16. S a e i d S a f a r i How questions influence search results Relevancy Retrieval (# of search results) Broad Questions Narrow Questions High = lots of articles Low = very few articles High = directly relevant articles Low = mostly irrelevant articles
  • 17. S a e i d S a f a r i Sample Search Statements  I am looking for articles about osteoarthritis of the knee.  13,886 articles in PubMed  I am looking for RCTs on arthroscopic surgery for osteoarthritis of the knee that include placebo surgery as a control.  9 articles in PubMed  I am looking for RCTs on arthroscopic surgery conducted in latino females with type 1 diabetes mellitus.  0 articles in PubMed
  • 18. S a e i d S a f a r i Stage In Searching 1. Define search topics 2. Choose appropriate search terms/keywords that represent the topic 3. Decide where to search/which sources to use (e.g. library catalog, online databases) 4. Develop search strategy by optimizing search tools 5. Observe search results 6. Revise the search as necessary
  • 19. S a e i d S a f a r i Turn your statement into a strategy 1. Break you question into concepts 2. Identify subject headings for each concept 3. Identify keywords for each concept  Tips:  Use a “target article” to help identify search terms  Use a strategy worksheet to keep track of your terms: http://www.lib.uwo.ca/files/taylor/grad/Search_Strategy_Worksheet.pdf
  • 20. S a e i d S a f a r i
  • 21. S a e i d S a f a r i Does hand washing prevent MRSA? in the ICU? Hand washing MRSA ICU Prevention Handwashing [MeSH] Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus [MeSH] Intensive care units [MeSH] + Handwash$.mp. Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus.mp. Intensive care unit$.mp. Prevent$.mp. Hand wash.mp. MRSA.mp. ICU.mp. Hand disinfect.mp. Critical care unit$.mp. Surgical scrub$.mp. Hand clean$.mp.
  • 23. S a e i d S a f a r i Lit reviews depend on data from seven sources 1. Online public bibliographic databases 2. Commercial bibliographic databases 3. Specialized bibliographic databases 4. Manual or “hand searches” of references lists 5. “Grey literature” 6. Web reports 7. Expert opinions
  • 24. S a e i d S a f a r i Where to search Bibliographic Databases  Medicine  PubMed (or Ovid MEDLINE), EMBASE, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO  Multidisciplinary  Scopus  Web of Science  Nursing and Allied Health  CINAHL Websites  Associations, Organizations & Government  World Health Organization, Health Canada, Canadian Medical Association, etc. Other  “Grey Literature”  Dissertations & Theses, SCOPUS (conference proceedings), Web search engines
  • 26. S a e i d S a f a r i Different databases have different subject headings  Tips:  Select subject headings that are the closest match for your concept  Pay attention to “explode” commands – some databases will search related headings by default, others will not Database Subject Headings Medline MeSH EMBASE EMTREE CINAHL CINAHL Headings Cochrane Library MeSH PsycINFO Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms Scopus, Web of Science N/A
  • 27. Which term explodes? A. Bird Diseases B. Neutropenia
  • 28. S a e i d S a f a r i Identifying concepts & MeSH headings Which concepts are contained in the question: Does hydration decrease incidence of delirium at the end of life? Find the MeSH heading(s) for each concept & add them to your worksheet
  • 29. AND AND OR exp Fluid Therapy/ Delirium/ exp Terminal Care/ OR Palliative Care/ exp Terminally Ill/ OR OR OR Concept #1 Ovid MEDLINE strategy Concept #2 Concept #3 Subject Headings Text Words Blank worksheets: http://muhclibraries.mcgill.ca/SearchStrategyWorksheet.doc
  • 30. S a e i d S a f a r i Key Operators in Ovid Operator Command Example * Find alternate endings to this word nurs* [will find nurse, nursing, nurses] .tw. Search for this term in the Title and Abstract fields anxiety.tw. adj Search for one term within x number of terms from another patient adj3 anxiety [will find patient within three words of anxiety] AND Find articles where both terms appear smoking AND cessation OR Find articles where either term appears smoking OR tobacco
  • 31. AND AND OR exp Fluid Therapy/ Delirium/ exp Terminal Care/ OR Palliative Care/ exp Terminally Ill/ OR hydrat*.tw. deliri*.tw. (terminal* adj4 patient*).tw. OR fluid*.tw. palliative.tw. OR water.tw. end of life.tw. Concept #1 Ovid MEDLINE strategy Concept #2 Concept #3 Subject Headings Text Words
  • 33. S a e i d S a f a r i Running your search(es)  Start with your first concept  Search for the subject headings first  Then search text words  Combine these synonymous searches with OR using your search history  Repeat for your second, third, and subsequent concepts  Finally, combine large search results set with AND
  • 34. Running your search(es) Search #2 = Search #3 = Search #4 = Search #5 = #1 OR #2 OR #3 OR #4 Search #1 = Concept 1 Search #6 = Search #7 = Search #8 = Search #9 = Concept 2 Search #10 = #6 OR #7 OR #8 OR #9 Search #11 = #5 AND #10 Results
  • 35. Please complete the following search in Ovid Medline AND AND OR exp Fluid Therapy/ Delirium/ exp Terminal Care/ OR Palliative Care/ exp Terminally Ill/ OR hydrat*.tw. deliri*.tw. (terminal* adj4 patient*).tw. OR fluid*.tw. palliative.tw. OR water.tw. end of life.tw. Concept #1 Concept #2 Concept #3 Subject Headings Text Words
  • 37. S a e i d S a f a r i Screening  Two kinds: practical and methodological  Use practical screening to identify a broad range of potentially useful studies  Use methodological screening to identify the best available studies
  • 38. S a e i d S a f a r i Practical Screening Criteria –examples 1. Date of publication  only studies conducted between 2005 and 2010 2. Participants or subjects  only children 6 to 12 years of age 3. Publication language  only materials written in English or French 4. Research design  only clinical trials
  • 39. S a e i d S a f a r i Apply Practical Screens  Add the following screens (limits) to your combined search result set:  English Language  Publication Year: 2001 – Current  Humans
  • 40. S a e i d S a f a r i LIMITS/FILTERS • Most databases offer limit functions to help users limit search results that are too broad or too many • Limits are commonly specified according to:  - date of publication  - type of publications (books, journals, news, etc)  - age group  - language  - sex (male/female)  - type of files
  • 42. S a e i d S a f a r i Working with your results  Save or export search results into a citation manager (i.e., Endnote)  Remove duplicates  Remove inappropriate studies by applying methodological screens
  • 43. S a e i d S a f a r i Methodological Screening Criteria - some questions to ask  Is the study’s research design internally & externally valid?  Are the data sources used in the study reliable & valid?  Are the analytic methods appropriate?  Are the results meaningful in practical & statistical terms?* *Fink, A. (2005). Conducting Research Literature Reviews. London: Sage.
  • 44. S a e i d S a f a r i Moving to another source  Retain as much of your original strategy as possible  Recognize that subject headings will be different (or non- existent)  Keep track of your search terms using new worksheets
  • 45. S a e i d S a f a r i Hand searching and final steps  Locate the reference lists for selected articles*  Identify new articles that have cited your articles*  Identify key journals and “hand search” their issues  Test your search strategy by checking to see if a few “target articles” appear in the results * Use Web of Science or Scopus
  • 47. S a e i d S a f a r i Use your results to... 1. Describe current knowledge about your research topic 2. Support the need for and significance of new research 3. Explain research findings 4. Describe the quality of a body of research* *Fink, A. (2005). Conducting Research Literature Reviews. London: Sage.
  • 48. S a e i d S a f a r i Tips For Effective Searches 1. Plan your search – identify the words that represent the topic of your search 2. Avoid using too broad or general terms, use specific terms instead to get limited but relevant results. 3. Use limit/filter functions as necessary 4. Create an account. Most online databases allow you to sign up for an account/personal folder in their database that helps you manage searches, search results or references, set up preferences, alerts, and many others.
  • 49. S a e i d S a f a r i Research strategy guide for finding quality, credible sources 1. Get organized 2. Articulate your topic 3. Locate background information 4. Identify your information needs 5. List keywords and concepts for search engines and databases 6. Consider the scope of your topic 7. Conduct your searches 8. Evaluate the information sources you found 9. Analyze and adjust your research strategy
  • 50. S a e i d S a f a r i  Basic computer skill: More than  Windows  Word  PowerPoint  Excel  SPSS  Adobe photoshop  Medline search  Endnote Basic skills for a scientist
  • 51. S a e i d S a f a r i  Paper reading  Critically and actively  Ability to recognize problems in the experimental design  Ability to recognize key sentences Basic skills for a scientist
  • 52. S a e i d S a f a r i  Understanding and use of the literature  Ability to evaluate a paper critically and accurately  Familiarity to a broad-based, relevant and current literature  Ability to generate useful notes while reading the literature  Ability to generate interesting and important questions  Ability to generate original ideas on the literature Basic skills for a scientist
  • 53. S a e i d S a f a r i  Experimental design  Ability to get techniques to work predictably and reproducibly  Ability to generate high quality data with both positive and negative controls that can give clear cut answer to a question  Ability to find the best available information from the best sources  Ability to interpret fully your data, generate next question or hypothesis and design the next experiment  Ability to troubleshoot and solve a technical problem  Resistance to doing an incomplete experiment using whatever reagents or cells that happen to be available ”to see what happens” Basic skills for a scientist
  • 54. S a e i d S a f a r i  Paper writing  Ability to group data in a logical fashion into good figures  Ability to make a good-looking figure  Ability to interpret data in relation to existing literature and come up with new ideas  Ability to write a good and useful first draft  Ability to use key sentence Basic skills for a scientist
  • 59. Databases All EBM Reviews (OVID) MD Consult Biological Abstract Nursing Consult CINAHL with Full text Nursing Index Cochrane Library OVID Databases Drug Information Full Text OVID Medline EndNote Web Scopus Essential Science Indicators (ESI) UpToDate Journal Citation Reports (JCR) Ulrichsweb Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA) Web of Science
  • 60. All EBM Reviews (OVID)
  • 67. Journals Collection Ebsco MD Consult Elsevier (Sciencedirect) MEDLIB Emerald Oxford journals Iran Medex OVID Journals JAMA Journals Proquest Wiley Springer Magiran Thieme Medical Journals
  • 71. JAMA
  • 78.
  • 81. MeSH
  • 83. S a e i d S a f a r i Useful Sites  CADTH. Grey Matters: a practical search tool for evidence-based medicine - http://cadth.ca/en/resources/grey-matters  Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews and Interventions - http://www.cochrane-handbook.org/  IOM (Institute of Medicine). Finding what works in health care: standards for systematic reviews - http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2011/Finding-What-Works-in- Health-Care-Standards-for-Systematic-Reviews.aspx
  • 84. S a e i d S a f a r i Recap  How would you describe a quality literature review?  Synonymous searches are combined with ___  Can you apply methodological screens with a database?  Finally, please make your librarian happy by filling out your
  • 86. Objectives 1. Formulate your question 2. Understand basic database structure 3. Use of Boolean Logic 4. Use Field Searching 5. Use of Controlled Vocabulary 6. Specialty techniques (truncation, etc.) 7. Building your search strategy
  • 87. Reasons for Searching the Medical Literature  To answer a specific patient case-related question (clinical practice)  To learn more about a medical topic (education)  To determine current best practice (guideline) To give the best possible care to patients using evidence-based medicine
  • 88. Information Overload PubMed (Medline) contains over 18 million journal citations going back to ~1950 Year # new citations added* 2005 606,000 2006 623,089 2007 670,943 2008 671,904 *statistics from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/bsd_key.html
  • 89. Asking the Question: PICO  Patient, Population or Problem  What are the characteristics of the patient or population?  What is the condition or disease you are interested in?  Intervention or exposure  What do you want to do with this patient (e.g. treat, diagnose, observe)?  Comparison  What is the alternative to the intervention (e.g. placebo, different drug, surgery)?  Outcome  What are the relevant outcomes (e.g. morbidity, death, complications)? http://healthlinks.washington.edu/ebp/pico.html
  • 90. Parsing the Question  What are the main concepts in your question? Sample question: Does nutrition therapy improve decubitus (pressure) ulcer healing in an elderly patient? Concepts: Nutrition therapy Decubitus/pressure ulcers Ulcer healing Elderly patients Treatment efficacy
  • 91. A database is an organized collection of data.  Bibliographic databases are searched through many of the same techniques as any other database  Focus will be on PubMed, but these techniques apply to ANY literature database
  • 92. Examples of Records and Fields Record # Author Title Publisher Date of Publication 1 Jones KM Infectious Diseases Wiley 2001 2 Smith BR Medicine Cambridge Univ. Press 2004 3 Johnson AS Cancer Elsevier 2005 4 Bradley PL Asthma Synergy 2003
  • 93. Examples of Records and Fields Record # Author Title Publisher Date of Publication 1 Jones KM Infectious Diseases Wiley 2001 2 Smith BR Medicine Cambridge Univ. Press 2004 3 Johnson AS Cancer Elsevier 2005 4 Bradley PL Asthma Synergy 2003 RED=RECORD BLUE=FIELD PURPLE = ONE PIECE OF DATA
  • 94. Searching a Database Different search interfaces do the same things in slightly different ways Good search interfaces should provide  Ability to search for a specific item  Ability to search for related items to a known item  Ability to search in a specific field or fields  Ability to combine search terms using Boolean Logic  Ability to retrieve search results in a useful way
  • 95. Boolean Logic A British mathematician named George Boole (1815-1864) developed an algebraic system of logic that is now widely used in computer and electronic systems including database searching. While Boole’s algebraic system can be complex, a very simple form of Boolean Logic is used for searching most bibliographic databases.
  • 96. Boolean Operators Standard Boolean Logic for database searching uses 3 relationships among search terms. AND OR NOT It is both simple and powerful.
  • 97. AND BOTH terms included in any results. If a record has only one of the two terms, it will not be retrieved. If the record has neither term, it will not be retrieved. What does this do to the amount of records retrieved?
  • 98. OR Only one (NOT both) of the terms are in the results ‘OR’ will retrieve the record if both are included. What does OR do to the amount of records retrieved?
  • 99. NOT Excludes any results containing the term Records containing both will not be retrieved. What does NOT do to the amount of records retrieved?
  • 100. Using OR “OR” groupings contain terms for the same idea/concept and are usually put in parenthesis (term OR term OR term) where all terms are difference ways of representing the same concept (faculty OR teachers OR professors) (students OR learners OR pupils)
  • 101. Using AND “AND” groupings contain terms for different ideas/concepts and can combine OR groupings Term AND (Term OR Term) where each represents a different concept heart attack AND smoking Diabetes AND exercise Cancer AND (treatment OR therapy)
  • 102. Using NOT “NOT” statements are usually put last and can contain an “OR” grouping; they are often used to get rid of a common subgroup Students NOT dental Diabetes NOT juvenile
  • 103. Putting Them Together 1. Identify the concepts (Parse the question) 2. List specific terms for each concept 3. Put the terms for each concept in an OR statements within parentheses 4. Combine OR statements with AND 5. Add any NOT statements to the end
  • 104. Creating a Boolean Search Concept 1 Influenza Concept 2 Vitamin C Concept 3 Treatment Concept 4 helpfulness Influenza Vitamin C Treatment Outcome Flu Ascorbic acid Therapy Recovery Orange Juice Management Success QUESTION: Is Vitamin C helpful in treating the flu? 1. Identify concepts and list terms
  • 105. Step 2 2. Make your OR statements, one per concept  (influenza OR flu OR orthomyxovirus)  (vitamin C OR ascorbic acid OR ascorbate)  (treatment OR therapy OR management)  (outcome OR recovery OR success)
  • 106. Steps 3 and 4 3. Put “AND” between each of the OR statements (influenza OR flu) AND (vitamin C OR ascorbic acid OR orange juice) AND (treatment OR therapy OR management) AND (outcome OR recovery OR success) 4. Consider any NOT statements you might want to add. Note: NOT isn’t used very often
  • 107. Parsing a Boolean Search (emergency OR acute OR critical) AND (treatment OR therapy OR management OR care) AND (motor vehicle accident OR car crash) NOT (pedestrian OR walking) What are the four concepts? What terms are used for each concept? Which three concepts must be included in all records found? Which concept must not be included in any record found?
  • 108. Beyond Basic Boolean  Field Searching  Controlled Vocabulary  Subject vs. Keyword Searching  Specialty Features  Truncation  Phrase searching
  • 109. Field Searching Almost all databases will provide you with some ability to search a specific field or fields.  Allows faster searching  Allows more accurate searching Not all databases may make all fields searchable. Each search system will require a specific format.
  • 110. All Field vs. Specific Field Searches I would like to find articles by John Smith.  Search all fields: John Smith  Search Author Field only: John Smith I would like to find an article published in 1997.  Search all fields: 1997  Search Publication Date Field: 1997 Why waste time searching for a date in the author field or an author in the volume field?
  • 111. Formats for Field Searching Different databases provide different formats for specifying fields. Most use field names or nicknames  Field ‘tags’ OR ‘labels’ which may follow a period or be placed in brackets or parentheses. Some databases offer forms or drop-down menus.
  • 112. PubMed Field tags go in [] and follow term Field tags can be used within Boolean queries
  • 113. PubMed Field Tags http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=hel ppubmed.section.pubmedhelp.Search_Field_D escrip [au] = author [ti] = title [tw] = textword [tiab] = title and abstract [mh] = medical subject heading [dp] = date of publication [la] = language [gr] = grant number [ta] = journal name [ad] = affiliation
  • 114. OVID databases require field tags to follow the term separated by a period. Meharry.in and 2005.yr
  • 115. Some databases, such as the ISI’s Web of Science (Science Citation Index Expanded) provide forms to fill out. Select Field from drop- down menuSelect Boolean Operator
  • 116. Combining Field Searches Multiple field searches can be combined using Boolean logic. Find a 2005 article by an author named Hubble about ankle fractures. Combine with AND:  2005 in date/year field  Hubble in author field  Ankle fractures in title field 2005[dp] AND Hubble[au] AND ankle fractures[ti]
  • 117. Final Notes on Fields  Each database provides its own specific fields  Each database requires a specific format to designate field searching  When searching a new database, take a moment to read the help documentation; most will provide a list of fields and how to search them.
  • 118. Controlled Vocabulary A controlled vocabulary is a set of established terms where  every term represents a single concept  only one term is used for that concept
  • 119. Another example  How many words could you think of for the idea of “cancer”?  Cancer, tumor, malignancy, neoplasm, sarcoma…  Articles in a database  Article one: “Breast tumors in young women”  Article two: “Surgery for prostrate cancer.”  Article three: “Diagnosing Melanoma.” All three articles are about types of cancer but different terms are used in titles.
  • 120. In a controlled vocabulary ONE word (i.e., cancer) is chosen and placed in a special field, usually called a subject field. For all three articles  Article one: “Breast tumors in young women”  Article two: “Surgery for prostrate cancer.”  Article three: “Diagnosing Melanoma.” The subject term (concept term) “cancer” is placed in the subject field by database indexers. Now, Searching the database for cancer in the subject field will identify all records about the concept of cancer even if a different word for cancer is used.  Search ‘cancer-in-subject-field’ finds all three articles  How many articles would the search ‘cancer-in-title-field’ find?
  • 121. Structure of Controlled Vocabulary Broader Concepts Narrower Concepts
  • 122. More on Controlled Vocabulary  “Expanding” = Search includes all narrower terms beneath the searched term  Some databases do it automatically, others don’t  “Focusing” or “Majoring” = For a given item, some subject terms are considered the major focus; you can select to return only those articles.  Hip fracture[majr] = only give me articles where hip fracture is an important concept
  • 123. Subject vs. Keyword Searching Controlled vocabulary searching  Matches terms against a specific field in the record.  You need to consult a thesaurus (paper or online) to find out what the controlled vocabulary term is for each concept. Free-text (keyword) searching  Some concepts have many synonyms. A free-text search statement would mean "OR"ing all those terms together  Matches terms against words anywhere in record (abstract, title, etc.).
  • 124. Advantages to Controlled Vocabularies  Using the controlled vocabulary can make your search more precise and easier.  Increases the relevancy of results (fewer false drops)  The indexers have already done much of the work for you.  Searchable tree structures of terms can help you find new terms to use.
  • 125. Problems with Controlled Vocabularies  NOT all databases use a controlled vocabulary  New concepts take time to be added  There is often a lag phase during which the newest articles aren’t indexed  Controlled vocabularies can contain some very strange things and some concepts may not be handled well  The controlled vocabulary must be easily searchable Trying to understand what is and isn’t in a particular controlled vocabulary can give you a big headache!
  • 126. Combining Subject and Keyword Searching To be comprehensive, it is often helpful to combine subject and keyword searching (diabetes mellitus[mh] OR diabetes[tw]) (sickle cell anemia[mh] OR sickle cell anaemia[ti])
  • 127. Don’t forget…  Boolean logic to combine terms  Use of other search fields in combination with subject terms A Complex Search: (head[mh] OR head[tw]) AND (wound and injuries[mh] OR trauma[ti] OR injury[ti]) AND 2005[dp] AND English[la]
  • 128. Some Specialty Features  Truncation  Phrase searching  Neighboring and other rarer Boolean operators
  • 129. Truncation What about including the singular and plural versions of words as well as other word variations? For example: therapy, therapies, therapeutics, You could combine them all in an OR relationship: (therapy OR therapies OR therapeutics OR therapeutic) But an easier way is by the use of truncation. therap* Each database handles truncation in a unique way. The ‘*’ and ‘$’ are the most common wildcard symbols.
  • 130. More on Truncation Some examples: Bacter$ Proc* Vir? Staph? Be cautious when truncating! If the word stem is too short, there may be too many possible variations and you might pick up unrelated terms. For example, using proc* for finding procaine-like drugs will also include words like proceedings and process.
  • 131. Phrase Searching  Sometimes you want to force the database to search for a set of words in exact order “fever of unknown origin” Most databases will accept a phrase in quotes. BUT…some do not handle phrases well and will automatically break them up – usually ‘AND’-ing the terms Check how the database handles phrase searching before doing it!
  • 132. Limits Options  Many databases provide “limits” pages that make it easier for you to select common options such as language, article type, publication dates, human or animal, gender, age groups, etc.  Each database’s limits options are unique  Most limits can be done ‘by hand’ using field tags, but sometimes limit pages save time
  • 134. Step-By-Step Search Construction 1. State the question 2. Identify the concepts in the question 3. For each concept, determine keywords and subject terms 4. Specify field tags after terms if needed 5. Combine terms for the same concept with “OR” in parenthesis 6. Combine “OR” statements with AND 7. Put any NOT terms at the end Keep track of your searches, how many articles were found total, and how many you selected as relevant
  • 135. Example  Question: What is the appropriate ED medical management of adult patients with intracranial hemorrhage (either trauma or spontaneous)?