Searching the literature HPTT630/830

 

Week 1: Searching the Literature

by Teresa Hartman, MLS
Associate Professor,
Education & Research Services McGoogan Library, UNMC

Created 12/2015

Updated 5/2016

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Instructions

1. Use Firefox. This tutorial doesn’t work in Internet Explorer.

2. Use the Arrow icons at the bottom of each page to go forward and backward in the tutorial. 

3. If you want to skip between parts of the tutorial, use the button directly above this box to show this tutorial's sections. Click on the section of the tutorial you want to access.

4. Clicking the "Single Page View" link will produce a printable transcript of the entire tutorial.

5. This tutorial contains questions that you will answer. At the end of the tutorial, you can enter your e-mail and have your answers sent to you, as well as a certificate of completion. A copy of the certificate will also be sent to the tutorial instructors.

 

Introduction

This is the first of two modules designed to teach you the best methods to locate and manage the information that is vital to your research during your class, and throughout your professional career.

Also review the research guide that has been created for this course: http://unmc.libguides.com/hptt630830

The two modules:
1) Week 1: Searching the Literature, and
2) Week 2: Managing Your Citations.

This module, Searching the Literature, will cover the steps you can use to locate information through the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, ERIC, and Google Scholar. It will also show you how to request items through your McGoogan Docs account, and how to set up search alerts to keep current with notifications about new publications that match your research topics.

The next module, Managing Your Citations, will show you how to collect and manage citations in RefWorks, and how to insert your citations in your manuscripts using Write-N-Cite. 

Objectives

After completing this tutorial, you will be able to:

•  Construct effective basic searches for education research in PubMed, Scopus, ERIC, and Google Scholar

•  Create a search alert to keep current on research topics for at least one of the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, ERIC via EBSCOHost, or Google Scholar.

Search topic

You need to find articles that cover education research in health profession settings.

PubMed-Simple search

1 of 3Please access PubMed through the Library's homepage in your browser's right-hand window in order to connect with UNMC full-text collection.

1. Click on the "Literature Databases" button.

2. When you reach the "Literature Databases" page, click on the "MEDLINE via PubMed" link. You will be asked to login with your UNMC NetID and password.

 

PubMed-Simple search

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At first, you run a keyword search.

PubMed-Simple search

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Type "education research" AND "health professions" into the search box and click Search. Using quotes forces PubMed to search the terms as phrases.

You retrieve 174 citations (as of 5/5/2016).

After you review the results, you decide that you would like more precise results, so you conduct a subject heading or MeSH search.

PubMed - MeSH search

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 Click the drop-down menu next to the search box (it currently has PubMed selected) and select MeSH.

Searching MeSH is like searching in a dictionary - use one concept at a time. Type education into the search box and click Search. Click on the first Education entry.

 

The Education subject heading has additional subject headings listed under it - you can pick Education, Professional to select all of the terms that are listed underneath it, or you can select a specific term, such as Education, Medical, or Education, Graduate. For this example, choose Education, Professional.

Click Add to Search Builder.

Now type in Research in the MeSH Search box, and hit Enter. Click on the Research term. 

Scrolling down the page, you can see the terms included under Research. All those terms will be included when you search Research.

Click Add to Search Builder to add Research to the search currently being constructed. Now enter educational technology in the MeSH Search box, and click Enter.

Click Add to Search Builder, and then click Search PubMed to run this search and review the results.

This search retrieved 587 citations (as of 5/5/2016). However, the results can be filtered. On the left side of the PubMed screen, click on Show Additional Filters, and select Language. Now click on English, and  Publication Dates within the last 5 years. Note that there are additional filters that the McGoogan Library has already selected on the upper right side of the screen for Review and Systematic Review or Meta-Analysis or Guidelines.

PubMed - MeSH search

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PubMed - MeSH search

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Review the remaining citations to see if there are any of interest to your research. If the search results don't serve your needs, you can adjust the terms used in the original search.

To access full text in PubMed, click on the title of the citation. You will see buttons on the upper right side of the page. The first button usually links to a publisher, the next one should say GetIt!@UNMC. If the first button shows FREE on it, click it. Otherwise, click on the GetIt!@UNMC button to pull up the full text of the article. If you get a page that has the blue McGoogan Docs bar, like this:

you will need to request a copy to be located and sent to you. The next chapter in this Guide will cover how to set up and use your McGoogan Docs account.

You are looking for peer-reviewed articles, so you can skip the commentaries or editorials. If you have any questions about a journal being peer-reviewed, you can check the journal's homepage, or request verification from the AskUs Desk at McGoogan Library: askus@unmc.edu / 402-559-6221.

PubMed - MeSH search

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Use the last search conducted in PubMed to create a search alert. Click the Create Alert link under the Search box.

This leads to the NCBI sign in.

Enter your NCBI username and password, or register for an NCBI account. Once you have logged in, you can customize your search alert. When items are added to PubMed that match your search, you will get an email message.

 

Another benefit of having an NCBI account: it is a requirement to have one when you apply for and publish on NIH-funded research.

McGoogan Docs-requesting items not held at UNMC

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When you click on a GetIt!@UNMC button or link, you should see the pdf or html full-text if UNMC subscribes to the journal. If you get a page that has the McGoogan Docs link on it:

that means the article is not available through UNMC holdings. You can request the item through your McGoogan Docs account.

Click on the blue bar to link to McGoogan Docs. Login, and the order form will be automatically filled in. You should receive a digital copy of the article within 2 hours to 2 days - some take longer.

If you haven't created an account yet, click on the "Create an Account" link, and register, choosing the UNMC Free billing method. There are no request fees for using McGoogan Docs. However, there could be copyright fees assigned to requests. More information about McGoogan Docs can be found on the FAQ.

McGoogan Docs-requesting items not held at UNMC

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Scopus -- search tips

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Click on this link to reach the Library's homepage: http://unmc.edu/library . Click on Literature Databases link on the right side of the homepage, then click on the Scopus link.

Scopus searches terms literally - it doesn't look for synonyms or subject headings for the terms you enter. A first search in Scopus might include: education, research, and "health professions", limited to the items published since 2011.

This retrieves 507 citations (as of 5/5/2016). You can add limits on the left side of the screen - limit to years, authors, subject areas, types of articles, etc. When you have a search you like, you can set a search alert (note the red arrow). You will first need to log in with or register for an Elsevier account.

Scopus -- search tips

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ERIC - search tips

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 Click on this link to reach the Library's homepage: http://unmc.edu/library . Click on Literature Databases link on the right side of the homepage, then click on the ERIC link.

ERIC can be searched by key words, and by using its Thesaurus. We will use the Thesaurus, which offers subject heading searching. Using subject headings should result in more relevant search results.

Enter medical education in the browse search box. The thesaurus suggests Medical Education as a term. Click the box next to the term you want (Step 1), click Add (step 2) and the terms will appear in the search box at the top (step 3). Click Search.

Note that Allied Health and Dentistry aren't listed in that collection - you will need to search the thesaurus again to add those subject terms if your research needs them.

Search the Thesaurus for educational technology, and run that search in ERIC. You now have two searches in ERIC that you can combine. Click the box next to each search, and click Search with AND.

The image below shows the search results screen you should see in your right side window. You can limit the results by date, language, peer reviewed, etc., by clicking the "Show More" link.  Please do not limit to "Full text", as this will eliminate UNMC holdings. You can save searches and set up search alerts by clicking on the link at the top of Search History. You will need to register for a My EBSCOhost account.

To see if an article is available through UNMC, click on the "Check Here for Full Text", or the pdf link below each citation you are interested in reading. If an article is not held at UNMC, you will get a screen that leads you to your McGoogan Docs account, where you can make your request.

ERIC - search tips

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Google Scholar --customizing it to search UNMC holdings

Open Google Scholar by clicking on this link: https://scholar.google.com/ . If it doesn't open in the window on the right side of your screen, please right-click on the link and open in a new window.

The main benefits of using Google Scholar are:

1) it crosses disciplines, searching books as well as articles;
2) it searches the full text of an article, not just the title,author, abstract; and
3) you can easily share links to search results (example).

Google Scholar isn't your only resource to use when searching. It is a great tool to use in addition to the other databases available through McGoogan Library.

Set up Google Scholar to search UNMC holdings by following the steps below. The steps are also listed on the right side of this Research Guide: http://unmc.libguides.com/Google_Scholar

1.  Click on the Settings gear

2. Click the "Show links..." button, and change the drop-down to show RefWorks

3. Type in UNMC and click the search button. Select University of Nebraska Medical Center, and click on Save.

Google Scholar doesn't save these settings forever. You will need to re-set your settings when you no longer see the RefWorks link under every citation, you will know that it isn't searching UNMC holdings.

Google Scholar --search tips

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When you search Google Scholar, use quoted phrases that would appear in the published articles. Example: if you are seeking a particular tool or survey, use the name of the tool in your search. 

Search Google Scholar for the following terms and phrases: "educational technology" research "health professions"

Let's review the search results you should be viewing in your right side window.

Each citation shows a snapshot of where terms appear in the article,  showing terms that Google used in bold type. Note that under some of the articles, there is a link to "Cited by...", leading you to the articles that have cited this article since it was published.

You can specify a date range, or use the suggested dates. In this example, we searched for items published since 2011.

When you have a search you like, you can create a search alert by clicking on the 'Create alert' link.

Google Scholar --search tips

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Certificate

Please enter your name and email address to retrieve a copy of your completed quiz.

You can enter multiple email addresses separated by commas. If you are doing this for a class, you may need to enter your instructor's email address also.

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