2.0 Searching and critiquing the literature Flashcards
Sources of evidence based material
Library catalogues (look for library guides)
Medical and Health Science Databases (CINAHL, Medline)
Multidisciplinary Databases (Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar)
Reference lists
Primary and secondary sources
What is primary literature and examples?
Original materials / studies
Authored by researchers
Contains original research data
Usually published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Includes:
Conference papers
Pre-prints
Preliminary reports
What is secondary literature and examples?
Consists of interpretations and evaluationsderived from or referred to the primary literature. (Evidence that is taken from primary evidence)
Includes:
Review articles (meta-analysis, systematic reviews)
Reference works
Professionals within each discipline take the primary literature and synthesize, generalise, and integrate new research
What is tertiary literature and examples?
Consists ofa collection of primary and secondary sources.
Includes:
Textbooks
Encyclopedia
Guidebooks
Handbooks
Purpose is to provide an overview of key research findings and an introduction to principles and practices within the discipline.
Is primary information filtered or unfiltered?
Unfiltered i.e. no critical appraisal
Found in literature databases forRCTs, cohort studies, case-controlled studies, case series, etc. Examples:
Ovid MEDLINE
PubMed LinkOut
PubMed Clinical Queries
CINAHL
Scopus
Web of Science
ScienceDirect
Is secondary information filtered or unfiltered?
Filtered.
Where can primary information be found?
Found in literature databases forRCTs, cohort studies, case-controlled studies, case series, etc. Examples:
Ovid MEDLINE
PubMed LinkOut
PubMed Clinical Queries
CINAHL
Scopus
Web of Science
ScienceDirect
Where can systematic reviews be found?
Cochrane Library
Ovid MEDLINE
PubMed LinkOut
PubMed clinical queries
Systematic reviews …
summarise carefully designed healthcare studies and provides level of evidence on effectiveness of intervention
Where can critically appraised topics be found?
UpToDate
Essential Evidence Plus
First Consult
Natural Medicines
Critically appraised topics…
evaluate and synthesise multiple research studies
Critically appraised articles….
evaluate and synthesise individual research studies
Where can critically appraised articles be found?
ACP Journal Club
Evidence-based Nursing
Evidence-based Medicine
Examples of filtered information
Systematic reviews
Critically appraised topics (evidence syntheses and gdls)
Critically appraised individual articles (article synopses)
Top of the hierarchy
Examples of unfiltered information
RCTs
Cohort Studies
Case controlled studies and case series / reports
Middle of hierarchy
What is on the lowest level of the hierarchy of evidence?
Background information / expert opinions
Steps for developing a structured literature search (7)
- Analyse your topic to identifyyour key concepts
- Identify key terms
- Define your inclusion and exclusion criteria
- Combine using Boolean operators
- Refine search
- Record your search
- Manage your references - ENDNOTE
When identifying key terms and alternative search terms, consider …
Synonyms (related terms)
Plurals
Variant spellings
Acronyms, Abbreviations
Broader terms
Narrower terms
Truncation - what is it, its purpose and an example
Searches for main stem of a word
Used to broaden your search to include various word endings and spellings
Nurs* = nurse, nurses, nursing
Wildcards - what is it, its purpose and an example
Wildcards substitute a symbol for one or more letters of a word
Immuni?ation= immunization, immunisation
Phrase searching- what is it, its purpose and an example
Retrieves exact search term
(“ ”)
“Mental health nurse”
Boolean operators
AND - as well as
OR - either / or
What is MeSH?
Medical Subject Headings. A MeSH term is used interchangeable with a preferred term as a means of cross-referencing.
By using MeSH terms in your search, the various synonyms of a term are automatically included in the search query. Example: In literature the concept of ‘cancer’ can be described in various ways: cancer, cancers, tumor, tumour, neoplasms etc.
Documenting the Search Strategy (5)
Record where you have searched for information
Why you chose those sources
How you carried out your search
How many results were found
Use a template as a record of your search
