EBD 2:

Paula Funnellp.a.funnell@qmul.ac.uk

Senior Academic Liaison Librarian (Medicine and Dentistry)

Search engines and databases

Recap• Introduction to the library• Library search tools• Accessing e-resources

Try the quiz to see how much you can remember

Global Epidemiology & Evidence-Based Dentistry: BDS Year 1

Using the library

Quiz – using the library

Learning outcomes

• Discover where to find good quality information on the web

• Learn how to use filters to get more precise results

• Understand how to use Boolean logic to combine search terms

• Be able to carry out a simple search on key databases

Search engines activity• For the resource you have been assigned

do a search for oral health and smoking.  • Write a post commenting on the following:

– How easy is it to use?– How many results do you get?– What type of documents do you find?– Do the results look relevant?– Do you think the information is of good

quality?– What do you think might be possible

problems with this resource

Search engines• Search engine = supermarket

• Photo by vauvau (http://flic.kr/p/75yAAb)

• Searches across many DIFFERENT things

Healthcare specific search engines

• Search specifically across healthcare related resources

• Search across good quality internet resources

• Much more manageable number of results

Medline Plus

• US National Institutes of Health's web site for patients and their families and friends

• Designed to provide up-to-date healthcare information in understandable language

• Also provides links to the latest medical research

www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus

Evidence Search

• Easy to use• Searches across high-quality

healthcare specific resources• Provided and managed by NICE• Wide range of filters allow you to narrow

down your search e.g. by type of information or date of publication

www.evidence.nhs.uk

TRIP

• One simple search box• Results are colour coded giving an at

a glance indication of quality of information

• Results vary widely - including primary research, reviews, textbooks and news

www.tripdatabase.com

Filters

• Search engines allow you to filter your results e.g.– By date– By type of information

• Healthcare specific search engines have more useful filters

• Evidence Search has an especially good range of filters

• Broad range of filters available in most databases

Chocolate Exercise

You have done a search for “chocolate”

Now filter your results to

1. Type: milk

2. Format: bar

3. Ingredients: nuts

4. Manufacturer: Cadburys

Fruit & Nut

Databases• Databases – florist

• Photo by stevewhis (http://flic.kr/p/a4h4RJ)

• Collection of SAME thing

Databases

• Vast collections of references of published research

• Filters can be applied to narrow results down

• Searches can be combined and saved for future use

• References can be imported to EndNote

MEDLINE (PubMed)

• PubMed is a search interface for the MEDLINE database

• Database of references and abstracts of journal articles

• Covers the broad field of biomedicine• Special QM PubMed address for

easier full-text access

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?otool=igbqmullib

Web of Science

• Part of ISI Web of Knowledge• Contains:

– Science Citation Index– Social Sciences Citation Index– Arts and Humanities Citation Index

• Need to log in off campus

www.webofknowledge.com

Web of Science: advanced features

Scopus

• World’s largest abstract and citation database

• Search across a range of subject areas

• Includes Medline coverage• Need to log in off campus

www.scopus.com

Boolean logic

• An OR search – combine two synonyms to give a larger number of results

• Child health OR paediatrics will search for any articles containing one or both of the terms

Boolean logic

• An AND search – combine two elements of your search question to give a smaller number of results

• Dental caries AND children will search for any articles containing both of the terms

Databases activity

Try searching the databases using the activity on QM Plus

Global Epidemiology & Evidence-Based Dentistry: BDS Year 1

Introduction to databases and search engines

Databases activity

The Cochrane Library

• High quality systematic reviews• Already been critically appraised• Full text available• Also contains abstracts of other

systematic reviews and clinical trials

www.thecochranelibrary.com

Summary

• Use specialist search engines to search across a wide range of good quality web resources

• Use databases to find academic research articles, both primary research as well as review articles

Preparation for session 3• Watch the presentation on referencing

and plagiarism

Global Epidemiology & Evidence-Based Dentistry: BDS Year 1

Academic writing

Referencing and plagiarism presentation

• Have a look at the referencing handout and referencing and plagiarism webpages