1. AIM AND INTRODUCTION
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Academic
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Searching the Literature |
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1. AIM AND INTRODUCTION |
The aim of this guide is to introduce you to the methods employed in carrying out a literature search and to explore searching the health care literature through printed indexes and web based databases.
I have heard it jokingly said about using the literature that
"when you steal from one author it's considered plagiarism, but if you steal from many it's research!"
It is certainly true to say that any research normally requires the use of a wide variety of printed literature and electronic sources. The process of retrieving the information needed for research can be quite complex, but adopting a methodical, structured approach removes much of the difficulty. In my experience searching the health care literature has its own special difficulties and this Unit aims to explore ways in which you can search effectively and efficiently.
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2. LITERATURE SEARCHING |
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2.1 JOURNALS |
Journal Articles
As mentioned, effective searching of the literature primarily needs a methodical approach and some advanced planning. There is heavy emphasis in this Unit on searching the journal literature as this is, in many respects, the most complex and crucial literature area to be able to access. Journal articles provide the most up-to-date source of published research and often cover subjects not readily to be found in book format. Some articles, known as review articles, provide overviews of a subject often with extensive reference lists and they can make excellent starting places for research. The principles of searching for articles can also be usefully applied to searching for other types of literature, so do bear this in mind when working through later sections of this Unit.
It is worth bearing in mind that you will frequently have to search beyond the confines of your subject area to find relevant literature so you may need to look in journals in related subject areas such as psychology, sociology, education etc to locate relevant material.
Journals on the Web
A number of journals are now providing information on the Web. Some now provide the full text of the journal although you often need a subscription before you can access the full text. Most journal web sites list the contents of recent issues.
You can find information and links to associated web sites for journal held at the Millbrook House site by going to:
NB even where we have online access to the full text of journals, access is normally only possible to students while they are on site. In others, due to license arrangement, off site access is often not possible to the full text of journals.
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2.2 INDEXES |
The major method of retrieving information is to use an index, either in printed format or as a data base. Obviously many journals have their own annual indexes to their content but, for a more extensive search, you need to use more comprehensive indexes which provide the necessary information for you to locate relevant literature in journals, books and a variety of other sources. Information can be looked for by subject or known authors. This Unit proceeds to explain the stages of carrying out a search and carries on to indicate indexes and databases of value in the health care field. No attempt is made here to explain in detail how each index works.
Journal articles do tend to dominate most research, but other sources of value should not be forgotten.
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2.3 TEXTBOOKS |
Textbooks can be valuable in providing an overview of a subject and they are distillations of knowledge on a subject. The major drawbacks are that books date very rapidly and there may be nothing specifically published on your topic. Books can be searched for through individual library catalogues, most of which are now computer-based or through a range of bibliographies, either general or subject specific. Some key examples are:
| Medical and Health Care Books and Serials in Print: | Provides a subject listing of medical books in print in America. |
| British Books in Print |
This has no subject section but lists books by title and author. |
| British Library | Access to the British Library catalogue which lists all the books etc held by the national UK library. |
| Amazon | Useful source of online information and ordering of books etc. |
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2.4 GREY LITERATURE |
A diverse range of material comes under the rather curious term of grey literature. The main characteristic of such literature is that it is not the type of thing you can buy off the shelves of your local book shop because it is not published through those normal channels. Examples of this type of literature are theses, conference proceedings, and reports. The information from these sources can be valuable and indeed it may be the only (or often the first) place where the results of research work are published.
Examples of indexes in this field are:
| Zetoc | Table of contents database for journal and conference papers. Athens registration needed. |
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Index of Conference Proceedings |
Lists the proceedings of conferences from around the world and is based on the collections held by the British Library. |
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Index to Theses |
This index lists theses produced at Universities and Colleges in the UK. |
| British reports, translations and theses: |
This British Library publication lists a varied collection of grey literature. |
| Dissertation Abstracts | American database of dissertations - only available on subscription. |
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2.5 DIRECTORIES |
Directories provide useful information on organisation or individuals and they can be useful guides to other sources of information. In the research field there are a number of directories which list on-going research and it is wise to check that your research is not going to duplicate an existing research project. A few examples of note are:
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Current Research in Britain |
This is a national register of research in progress at British Universities and Colleges. |
| Professional Bodies: research lists | The professional organisations of some health care professions may keep their own registers of ongoing research. For example the COT |
| National Research Register | National register of NHS funded and other relevant research. |
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2.6 STATISTICAL SOURCES |
Several published sources of statistical information are available and they can provide supporting data for your research work. In the UK governmental sources are the most important with the major government departments, including Health, producing a wide range of statistics, normally published by The Stationery Office.
Some examples of sources are:
| An annual statistical survey including financial, manpower, administrative and vital statistics. | |
| UK Statistics | Offiical government site for UK statistics including those on health topics. |
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Self-Assessment Question |
| Can you list some of the main sources of literature other than journals that you might want to use? Can you describe the type of information they can provide? |
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3. PROBLEMS OF THE LITERATURE |
The health care literature poses a number of difficulties, especially as a result of its multidisciplinary nature. The following points are worth noting:
A further problem facing researchers is that it is only relatively recently that indexes have been produced that cover the subject in any detail. Most of the indexes that have been developed only date from the mid-1980's so searching further back may mean recourse to looking back through piles of old journals and this can be a time-consuming task.
There are some difficulties with searching the indexes that exist which need to be borne in mind.
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4. STAGES OF A SEARCH |
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Pre-Search Stages
2. Identify databases or indexes to search 3. Define your search strategy -
a. select search terms b. use subject headings and/or free text words c. broaden or limit search using Boolean methods
Searching Stages
5. Evaluate search results
6. If too few hits consider broadening search OR If too many limit search further
7. Run revised search
8. Summarise search yield OR if still poor try other databases/indexes
Final Stages
10. Appraise the information found
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The typical stages of planning and carrying out a search are summarised in the diagram above. We will now look at some of these aspects.
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4.1 PRE-SEARCH |
Before the search is begun you need to consider the following points.
You will also need to form decisions on a few other factors:
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Self-Assessment Question |
| You have now learnt about the basics of literature searching. From your earlier reading can you recall the main reasons why a literature review is an important part of research work? |
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5. METHODS OF SEARCHING THE MAJOR INDEXES |
The major indexes to the literature normally have a highly structured arrangement so to search efficiently the following points need to be noted for subject and author searches.
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5.1 SUBJECT SEARCHING |
| Main Heading | Sub-heading |
| Multiple Sclerosis | Nursing |
| Schizophrenia | Rehabilitation |
To arrive at search terms it is a good idea to analyse a topic and split it into its components.
For example, for the topic:
| Treatment of stroke in the elderly |
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The search terms might be:
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You may well be able to think of other terms for the above example. The following activity gives you the chance to practice selecting keywords.
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Spend about 5-10 minutes on the following exercise. For the following subjects write down the terms you might search under. 1. The role of your profession (nurse, OT etc.) in a multidisciplinary health care team. b. The community care of adults with learning disability. c. The impact of evidence-based practice on your own profession (e.g. OT, midwife etc) d. The therapeutic role of occupational therapy/nursing in cancer treatment. |
Now compare your terms with the answers at the end of the Unit (click here : Answers). There are many possibilities so if you have different answers they may well be equally valid in some indexes!
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5.2 AUTHOR SEARCHING |
Searching for known authors should be straightforward generally but a few points to note are:
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6. INDEXES |
Indexes to Journal Literature
There are four main types of printed index to be found. Most medical and
academic libraries will have a selection available. You are probably unlikely to
find them all in one place.
Bibliographical Indexes
These provide the basic details to enable you to trace an article, i.e. author(s), article title, journal title, year, volume and page numbers.
Examples are:
Abstracting Indexes
These provide the normal details of any bibliographical index but also gives you a summary (the abstract) which describes the content of the article. The extra information provided can be crucial in deciding on the value of an article for your research. For example:
Current Awareness
Current awareness indexes, as their name suggests, are designed to keep people up to date with their subject. They normally do this by reproducing the contents pages of journals. Normally their value for searching back in time is limited, they are designed for now. For example:
Citation Indexes
The indexes can be used for normal subject or author searches but they also have a unique function. Having found a key author and paper it is possible to find out subsequent authors who have referred to this original work, possibly building on it or even criticising it. The major indexes are:
Both indexes provide access to citation listings and some coverage is provided of the occupational therapy literature field.
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7. DATABASES |
Most of the printed indexes are also available as databases too. These can either be accessed via the internet or, less commonly now, through CD-ROM based systems. Clearly being able to search for information using a computer has many advantages. Search terms can be combined for more complex topics, something which printed indexes cannot easily provide. It is possible to search using any word you wish to use rather than having always to decide upon a precise subject heading. Thousands of records can be scanned very rapidly using a computer.
For information on databases please go to: Online Databases. For the Cinahl and Amed databases you will need the usernames and passwords issued to you during the searching sessions at the School.
The following databases are of value for searching the literature. This is only a selection, there are many more of value too. Links to further information on the databases have been provided where available, but you won't, in most cases, be able to access the database direct unless you pay a fee!
| DATABASE TITLE | DATABASE DESCRIPTION |
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Database version of occupational therapy index plus other British Library indexes, namely: physiotherapy, rehabilitation, terminal care and complementary medicine. Available via St Loye’s. Athens registration required. |
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The equivalent to the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health. Valuable database of relevance to nurses, occupational therapists and other allied health professions. Available via the Athens system. |
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Psycinfo/Psyclit |
Database version of Psychological Abstracts. Useful resource for behavioural science topics. Not currently available at Millbrook site. |
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Embase |
The on-line version of the massive Excerpta Medica Indexes. Not available here. |
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Medline (Index Medicus) is one of the foremost biomedical information sources and now freely available over the web without charge. An excellent resource for searching the medical and related literature. |
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DHSS-Data (Health CD) |
The database from which Health Service Abstracts is derived. Not available here. |
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Social Scisearch Science Scisearch |
Database versions or the citation indexes described above and they are often available in academic libraries via the Bath Information and Data Service (BIDS). Not available here.. |
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Useful source of information on the social care literature. This is available via the Electronic Library for Social Care. |
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| Cochrane Library | Database of systematic reviews of the research literature. Now been made available via the National Electronic Library of Health or via Athens registration. |
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Useful listing of freely available databases of relevance to health professionals. |
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| ENB Nursing Database |
Database listing nursing journal articles and other nursing literature. No longer updated. |
| Zetoc | Table of contents database for journal and conference papers. Athens registration needed. |
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American database listing journal articles and other resources in education and does include some OT articles. |
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8. INTERNET RESOURCES |
Another very important source of information is the Internet. The Internet is a global network of computers which provides an excellent means of communicating with people and exchanging information across the world. The World Wide Web provides a multimedia interface to the Internet and it is these Web pages which provide links to information and documents. The Internet can be used to access library catalogues, on-line databases and to browse through publications, such as journals, in electronic format.
There are an increasing number of valuable information sources being developed on the Internet which are of relevance to the health care professions. The major problem with using the Internet has been locating relevant information and at times using it can feel like being left in a jungle without a guide and a compass! However, there are many attempts being made to collate and index information which are helping remove some of the difficulties.
NB The Millbrook House Web page includes useful information on using the Internet and also lists many of the sites which are mentioned below.
The address of the site is: Home Page
The internet resources pages are at: Links Page
To find specific tutorials on searching in your subject area take a look at: Virtual Training Suite
For a list of subject gateways which collate resources please visit: PINAKES
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9. SEARCH ENGINES |
One way of locating information is to use what is termed a "Search Engine". These are large indexes where you can enter a search term and the system will scan its index and provide you with a list of possible sites. Information on searching the Internet can be found at:
Links to search engines can be directly located at:
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10. SUBJECT BASED RESOURCES |
Increasingly organisations are developing Web pages that provide information plus hypertext links to other sites of interest.
You can general resources for the following subject areas by clicking on the links below:
The full listing of the links we have collated can be found at;
Do remember to visit our Home Page as we regularly update and add to our collection of links!
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11. MAKING NOTES ON LITERATURE |
As important as reading articles from textbooks and journals to do with your research, is taking notes on this reading. You will soon start to forget what you have read, particularly as is often the case, when you have to read considerable amounts. There is nothing worse than being unable to find something that you are sure you have read or that you cannot find the details of a particular article when putting together your reference or bibliography sections of your research thesis.
The traditional way of keeping notes on literature is using index cards. The cards should include all the information you are likely to need for drawing up the references or bibliography for your project. For example card entries may look like:
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Pratt P N and Allen A S (eds) (1989). Occupational Therapy for Children. 2nd Ed. St Louis, Mosby. ISBN: 0801624665Chapter 13 Exner CE 'Development of hand functions' |
In addition to the reference details, it is also important to include notes relating to the content of the article. For example: what were the article's conclusions? could these findings be generalised? Could the study be flawed in any way? are there any useful quotations? For example for the journal article below, my notes are as follows:
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Jeffrey L I H (1993). Aspects of Selecting Outcome Measures to Demonstrate the Effectiveness of Comprehensive Rehabilitation. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 56(11), 394-400 Comments An excellent review of outcome measures 86 references Review of Sickness Impact Profile No account of Nottingham Health Profile or McMaster Health Inventory See Figure 1 for content summary of each outcome measure |
As you can see some of these notes could be described as a critique of the particular article which will be considered in detail in the next Unit. However, it is important that whatever method and format of note taking you adopt, you are consistent.
For course work you must use the Harvard System of referencing. The Harvard Guide can be found on the Internet at: Harvard Referencing Guide.
Some journals use a different method called the Vancouver system, which uses numbers in the text. However, it is wise to keep your cards in the referencing style that you intend to use when you are writing up.
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12. CONCLUSION |
I find it quite a difficult task, in some ways, to describe literature searching on paper. This is I think because it is very much a practical thing and to appreciate how to do searching you really need to have hands-on experience of using the sources. Only then will some of the methods outlined above begin to make sense to you, particularly as each index & databases has its own unique layout and idiosyncrasies.
I have said nothing yet about actually obtaining articles and books located through a search. If a library does not have the item you want it is normally possible for them to obtain it from another library. You may find that they will charge you for this often quite costly service.
If you have difficulty obtaining material it is worth bearing in mind that the major professional bodies also have library services. You can find information on their web sites and some examples are:
College of Occupational Therapists
Chartered Society for Physiotherapy
Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists
Society of Chiropodists and podiatrists
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13. FURTHER READING |
Bailey D M (1997). Research for the health professional: Practical guide. 2nd Ed. Philadelphia, F A Davis. Chapter 2: Researching the literature.
Bell J (1999) Doing your research project. 3rd ed. Buckingham, Open University Press. (Chapters 5 & 6)
Drummond A (1996), Research methods for therapists. London, Chapman & Hall. (Section 1 - 2 Literature Review).
Hart C (2001) Doing a literature search. London, Sage.
Mogey N (1996). Occupational Therapy on the Internet. British Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, 3(10) 559-560
Reed K C and Cuunmighan (1997). Internet guide for rehabilitation professionals. Philadelphia, Lippincott.
| Answers to the ITA on Subject Headings |
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
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Copyright Statement : © University of Plymouth, School of Health Professions, Millbrook House, Exeter |
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Guide written by Graeme
Barber |
