Roy Brown, MLIS

Education and Research Librarian

Tompkins-McCaw Library, VCU Libraries

Database Basics:Performing a Good Search

CONFIDENCE IN YOUR SEARCHING SKILLS

WHAT MAKES A GOOD SEARCH?

WHERE TO TURN WHEN YOU NEED INFORMATION

Goals: • Be aware of the process for doing an effective search • Understand the difference between keyword and subject

heading searching• Know how to use Boolean operators & limits• Be able to identify appropriate databases for different information

needs • Be able to better use PubMed & CINAHL (Friday)

Effective Searching = Less Time & Reading

Why do you need to search efficiently?

1979 estimated that 2 million articles were published in biomedical literature annually and increasing. If a

practitioner were to attempt to keep up with literatrue by reading 2 articles per day, in 1 year they would fall 55

centuries behind. Another way to put it would be that if physicians were to read everyting of possible relevance,

they would need to read 5500 articles per day....Haynes, R., McKibbon, K., Fitzgerald, D., Guyatt, G., Walker, C., & Sackett, D. (1986). How to keep up with the medical literature: why try to

keep up and how to get started. Annals Of Internal Medicine, 105(1), 149-153.

Physically impossible to read everything that is published in that literature, which now means attempting to read nearly 90,000 journals per year. Estimated that if you

read two articles a day every day, by the end of the year you would be over a year behind in your reading.

Lawrence, D. (1997). Literature searching and critical appraisal of the literature for the practicing chiropractor. Chiropractic Technique, 9(4), 151-156.

Since 2005, between 2,000-4,000 completed references are added each day to PubMed

Levels of Evidence

Evidence Based Practice Guidelines

Meta- Analysis / Systematic Review

Critically Appraised Topics [Evidence Syntheses]

Critically Appraised Individual Articles [Article Synopses]

Randomized Control Trials (RCT’s)

Cohort Studies / Cross-Sectional Study

Case Controlled Studies/Case Reports

Reviews

Background Information / Expert Opinion

Filtered Information

Unfiltered Information

Qua

lity

of E

vide

nce

Start of

Search

(Idea

l)

Rea

lity

EBP Objective:Clinical Knowledge Bedside

THE SEARCH PROCESS

Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences, VCU Libraries

The Search Process2.

5. Evaluate the Results

6. Good Results = Use the Data • Bad = Start Over

3. Choose the appropriate database(s) or resource for

your topic

4. Perform the Search

1. Problem/ Construct Question

Image: http://evidencebasedhealth.blogspot.com/

Formulate Your Search Strategy

• Synonyms for Search Terms• Subject Heading vs. Keyword• Boolean Operators & Limits

THE SEARCH PROCESS Step 1: Starts with Problem or Need for Information/ Developing a Clear Research Question

Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences, VCU Libraries

The Search Process2.

5. Evaluate the Results

6. Good Results = Use the Data • Bad = Start Over

3. Choose the appropriate database(s) or resource for

your topic

4. Perform the Search

1. Problem/ Construct Question

Image: http://evidencebasedhealth.blogspot.com/

Formulate Your Search Strategy

• Synonyms for Search Terms• Subject Heading vs. Keyword• Boolean Operators & Limits

The Problem……….

• Helping a older, female patient to deal with the

pain or other issues related to fibromyalgia

• Improve Quality of Life

Question - Brings Focus to Search of the Literature

Chronic Pain / Fatigue / Sleep Issues

Formulate Your Question

Question Is therapeutic touch or guided

imagery more effective when treating a patient with fibromyalgia?

P(Problem, Patient,

Population, Program)

I(Intervention)

C(Comparison)

O(Outcome)

T(Type of

Question)

T(Type of Study)

Type of Question/ Best Type of Study

 Type of Question

 Best Type of Study

TherapyHow to select treatments to offer patients that do more good than harm and that are worth the efforts and costs of using

them

Randomized Control Trial (RCT)

PreventionHow to prevent a disease or condition RCT/ Cohort Study / Case Control

PrognosisHow to estimate the patient's likely clinical course over time

and anticipate likely complications of disease

Cohort Study/ Case Control/ Case Series or Case Report

DiagnosisHow to select and interpret diagnostic tests Blind RCT Compared to the Gold Standard

(best treatment/test for diagnosis)Etiology/Harm

How to identify causes for disease RCT/ Cohort Study /Case ControlCost analysis

Economic costs of all facets of a intervention or disease treatment

Economic Analysis

Evidence

Based Prac.

Guidelines,

Meta-

Analysis

& Systematic

Reviews

15

PICO & Breaking Search Into Concepts

Main Concepts Break Search in Groups/Concepts

Fibromyalgia | Guided Imagery & Therapeutic Touch

These concepts will be used to search the databasesFind Synonyms/ Related Terms for Concepts

Different Databases Use Different Terms

P(Problem, Patient,

Population, Program)

I(Intervention)

C(Comparison)

O(Outcome)

T(Type of

Question)

T(Type of Study)

Patient with Fibromyalgia

FemaleOlder/Aged

Therapeutic Touch

Guided Imagery

Alleviating the

symptoms of Fibromyalgia

Therapy RCT

Background

Informatio

n

What are some alternative terms…

• Guided Imagery

• Fibromyalgia

• Therapeutic Touch

Fibromyalgia Therapeutic Touch Guided Imagery

• Fibromyalgia• Chronic Fatigue

Syndrome• Diffuse Myofascial

Pain • Fibromyalgia-

Fibromyostitis Syndrome

• Postviral Fatigue Syndrome

• Therapeutic Touch• Massage• Zone Therapy • Reiki

• Guided Imagery• Hypnosis • Directed Reverie

Therapy• Imagery(Psychotherapy)

Alternative Terms…

Ways to Find Alternative Terms/ Background Information • Good Sources:

1. Point-of-Care Tools • First Consult• Up to Date

2. Government Sites • Medline Plus• PubMed Health

3. Controlled Vocab. Entry Terms

4. Google ScholarTerm/Concept

Mining

Google vs. Google Scholar

main purpose of is to hunt for text in Web pages

Displays results based on Page Rank

Does not really cover information contained in library catalogs, official government documents, phone books, etc.

• Indexes the full text of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines

• Includes most peer-reviewed online journals of Europe and America's largest scholarly publishers

• Tends to put weight on citation counts when displaying search results

Falagas, M. E., Pitsouni, E. I., Malietzis, G. A., & Pappas, G. (2008). Comparison of PubMed, scopus, web of science, and google scholar: Strengths and weaknesses The FASEB Journal : Official Publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 22(2), 338-342. doi:10.1096/fj.07-9492LSF Vine, #., & Rita. (2006). Google scholar Journal of the Medical Library Association, 94(1), 97–9. Wikipedia contributors.Google search Retrieved, 2012,

THE SEARCH PROCESS Step 2: Formulating Your Search Strategy

Partly Based

on the

Database Used

The Search Process2.

5. Evaluate the Results

6. Good Results = Use the Data • Bad = Start Over

3. Choose the appropriate database(s) or resource for

your topic

4. Perform the Search

1. Problem/ Construct Question

Image: http://evidencebasedhealth.blogspot.com/

Formulate Your Search Strategy

• Synonyms for Search Terms• Subject Heading vs. Keyword• Boolean Operators & Limits

KEYWORD SEARCHING

Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences, VCU Libraries

Natural Language

How to search…Keyword or Controlled Vocab/Subject Heading?

Neoplasm

Pressure Ulcer

Contusion

Myocardial Infarction

Cancer

Bed Sores

Bruise

Heart Attack

V.A.P. Ventilator-Associated

Pneumonia

V.B.A.C. Vaginal Birth After Cesarean

DESCRIBE THE FOLLOWING ITEM

Person 1

• Aluminum Can• Coke Can • Can with Condensation

• Soda Can

Person 2

• Pop Can • Soda Can

• Can That is Sweating • Red Aluminum Can

Person 1

• Aluminum Can• Coke Can • Can with Condensation

• Soda Can• Red Can

Person 2

• Pop Can • Soda Can

• Can That is Sweating • Red Aluminum Can

Describe This Can ……

Keyword• Also called natural language searching• Search for words or phrases found in title, abstract, or

other parts of articles• Keyword searching used for

• New terminology• Rare terms• Other terms that have no related subject heading• Spelling variations

• Truncation - Train*• Trained, Trainer, Training, etc.

• Grouping Using “Guided Imagery”• Use Quotation Marks • Without Quotes – AND Terms Together

Perspective

Synonyms

WHERE THE DATABASE SEARCHES FOR KEYWORDS In the Citation

All searched when searching by keyword

All Places that are searched when doing a keyword search in PubMed

SEARCHING WITH SUBJECT HEADINGS/ CONTROLLED VOCABULARYMeSH - PubMed

CINAHL Headings - CINAHL

Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences,

VCU Libraries

Pepsi

Coke

Pop

Soda Soda

Pop

Subject Headings/ Controlled Vocabulary • Controlled Vocabulary – Thesaurus

• Help to return results that directly apply to subject of the search

• Hierarchy – Tree Structure • Broad –Specific

• Minor / Major Heading • Major Heading - Focuses your search

results to returning articles that specifically address the topic• PubMed – have stars beside them• CINAHL – Divided into Major & Minor

Headings

• Scope Note – Term Definition

Soda Pop

Soft Drink

Examples of Hierarchy PubMed CINAHL

May need to move backward in order to move forward……

Good Choice • Broad

• Commonalities between people

Issue: Breastfeeding practices of adolescent mothers in Vietnam.

Too Broad

10 Articles

Tip: Sometimes Need to Back Up to Move Forward

WHERE THE DATABASE SEARCHES FOR CONTROLLED VOCABULARY/ SUBJECT HEADINGS In the Citation

Subject Heading Field in CINAHL

Subject heading field in PubMed

BOOLEAN OPERATORS/ COMBINING TERMS AND, OR, NOT

Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences,

VCU Libraries

Boolean Operators - AND

• Combines concepts

• Relationship

• Retrieves records that contain BOTH terms entered

Soda Pop Weight Gain

Boolean Operators - OR

• Combines synonyms or like concepts

• No Relationship Necessary

• Retrieves records that contain EITHER term entered

Coke Pepsi

When Searching………..Combining Terms Together

Group 1

Combine Terms with OR

Group 2

Combine Terms with OR

AND AND

Group 3

Combine Terms with OR

Fibromyalgia Therapeutic Touch Guided Imagery

"Fibromyalgia“ [Subject Heading]

OR

"Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic“

[Subject Heading]

OR

Fibromyalgia [Keyword]

OR

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

[Keyword]

“Therapeutic Touch “ [Subject Heading]

OR

Therapeutic Touch [Keyword]

OR

Massage [Keyword]

"Imagery (Psychotherapy)“

[Subject Heading]

OR

Guided Imagery [Keyword]

OR

Hypnosis[Keyword]

Good Search – Combination of Subject Headings and Keywords

AND AND

Keep in Mind – Doing A Good SearchBreak Your Search into Concepts –

Don’t Marry Early/ Let Them Date!!!!

Start Your Search Broad and Then Focus – Don’t Put Blinders on the Horse Too Soon !!

Be sure to come up with alternative or related terms for your topic

Always search in at least two databases.

Use Controlled Vocabulary When PossibleMeSH/CINAHL Headings

WAYS TO INCREASE OR DECREASE RESULTSExploding, Subheadings, Limits

Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences,

VCU Libraries

Explode Option:

Increases Number

Includes Chosen Term and All of those Below it

in the tree

PubMed – Done Automatically

CINAHL – Must Choose to Explode A

Term

• Provide More Focus/ Detail

• Decrease the Number of Articles Returned

Subheadings

Using Limits • Language• Age Group• Time Period/ Date• Gender/Sex• Publication Type

• Systematic Reviews• Meta Analysis• Randomized Control Trials• Practice Guidelines • Reviews

Not Finding Enough?Ways to Expand Your Results

Finding Too Many Articles?

Ways to Focus Your Results (Ways to Get More Articles)

Try To :• Explode Your Terms• Keyword Searching• Look At Related or Citing

Articles

(Ways to Get Fewer Articles)

Try Using:• Major Concept/Subject• Subheadings• Limits

Other Things to Think About…..

Selecting the Right Resource

• Research Guides • Nursing Research Guide

• Important Databases• PubMed/Medline (Free) • CINAHL• APA PsycNet/PsychInfo• Cochrane Library • TRIP Database (Free)• National Guidelines

Clearinghouse (Free)• PubMed Health (Free)• Medline Plus (Free)

http://guides.library.vcu.edu/nursing

Evidence Based

Practice Guidelines

Meta- Analysis / Systematic

Review

Critically Appraised Topics

[Evidence Syntheses]

Critically Appraised Individual Articles

[Article Synopses]

Randomized Control Trials (RCT’s)

Cohort Studies / Cross-Sectional Study

Case Controlled Studies/

Case Reports

Reviews

Background Information / Expert Opinion

Filtered Information

Unfiltered Information

Qua

lity

of E

vide

nce

Quick Review….

1. What is the advantage of using subject headings/controlled vocabulary over keywords when doing a search?

3. What is one way you could decrease the number of articles you get in a search when using subject headings/controlled vocabulary?

2. Will truncation increase or decrease the amount of articles you in get in a search?

Break Time…………

If You Need Help……..• Get in touch with Me…..

Roy Brown, MLIS

Education and Research Librarian

Tompkins-McCaw Library, VCU Libraries

rebrown2@vcu.edu / Ph. 804-828-1592

Evidence Based

Practice Guidelines

Meta- Analysis / Systematic

Review

Critically Appraised Topics

[Evidence Syntheses]

Critically Appraised Individual Articles

[Article Synopses]

Randomized Control Trials (RCT’s)

Cohort Studies / Cross-Sectional Study

Case Controlled Studies/

Case Reports

Reviews

Background Information / Expert Opinion

Filtered Information

Unfiltered Information

Qua

lity

of E

vide

nce