Transcript SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION STRATEGIES FOR RETRIEVAL

SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION
STRATEGIES FOR RETRIEVAL
HSMP 2011-12
Why?
Effective searching for pertinent information
All essential, key information
Without irrelevant side-tracks
What?
General information, broad subjects
Books, review articles
Specific information, recent developments
Articles
Statistics
Websites - reports
Resources for the selection
• Internet search engines
• Websites of international organizations
• Bibliographic databases
Relevance - Thoroughness – Invisible - Deep web –
Integrity - Reliability - Up-to-dateness - Repeatability
Search engines
Google
http://www.google.com/
Bing
http://www.bing.com/
Yahoo
http://www.yahoo.com/
Google Scholar
• Combines search engine characteristics with
database features
• Searches scientific literature instead of
websites
• Relevance ranking, citation analysis
• Offers links to the full text (provided you have
access rights)
http://scholar.google.com/
International organizations and agencies
WHO
UNDP
World Bank
UNAIDS
CDC
CIA – World Factbook
http://www.who.int/en/
http://www.undp.org/
http://www.worldbank.org/
http://www.unaids.org/en/
http://www.cdc.gov/
https://www.cia.gov/
Integrity, Stability, Currency, Full Text
Bibliographic databases
• Cover clearly defined subject areas
• Structured bibliographic descriptions
containing a number of searchable fields
(author, title, journal,…)
• Search tools comprise thesaurus
(hierarchically arranged list of keywords) and
alphabetical index(es)
Search strategies: Where to start?
1. Select an appropriate database
Criteria:
- scope: time frame and subjects covered
- full text accessibility (print, PDF…)
- document types included
Search strategies: Where to start?
• ITM catalogues and databases
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ITG Book and Document Holdings
ITG Student Dissertations
ITG Staff Publications
Tropical Endemic Diseases Control
Health Care in Developing Countries
See: ‘http://lib.itg.be/datab.htm’
Search strategies: Where to start?
• ITM catalogues and databases
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Produced by ITM library staff
Relatively small; i.e. 5,000-20,000 records
Limited to relevant topics and collections
Focus on developing countries’ issues
All document types are included (books, articles, grey
literature…)
– Full text is available in the ITM library + link to electronic
full text (DOI)
– Free keywords, no thesaurus
Search strategies: Where to start?
• Medline/Pubmed
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Major database in biomedical and allied life sciences
1950 to the present
Articles only
Anglosaxon bias
Local or Third World journals underrepresented
No relationship whatsoever with ITM collection
 Pubmed Tutorials!
 Next week: How to search Pubmed
Search strategies: Where to start?
• Other databases
– Global Health (CABI)
– Popline
– Lilacs [Latin America!]
subscription-based
free
free
See: ‘http://lib.itg.be/datab.htm’
Search strategies: Type of information
2. Choose the right search strategy
Reference or location of
specific document(s)  strategy A
or
More or less extensive
literature survey on a topic  strategy B
Search strategies: Strategy A
Strategy A: Find (a) specific document(s)
• Determine the most characteristic elements
(E.g. author, word in title, periodical, publisher)
• Enter search terms in the appropriate fields
(advanced search)
• Use the indexes to verify spelling
Search strategies: Strategy A
• Are the following books in the ITM library? If so,
where can you find them?
• Green A. An introduction to health planning in developing countries; 3rd
ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007: 397 pp.
• Preker AS, Carrin G, editors. Health financing for poor people; resource
mobilization and risk sharing. Washington: International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development/World Bank; Geneva: World Health
Organization (WHO); Geneva: International Labour Office (ILO), 2004: 446
pp.
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Select the appropriate database
What specific elements distinguish this reference from most others?
Specify the appropriate fields if necessary
Look for the location coordinates
Search strategies: Strategy A
• Generate a list of ITM memoirs since 1995
concerning Rwanda
 Log in to Webspirs (http://lib.itg.be/version.htm)
 Select the appropriate database
 Enter Rwanda in the Keywords index
 Enter 1995 in the Publication Date index and select
every year until 2011 – Click « Search marked »
 Go to Search history and combine search results
Search strategies: Strategy A
• Find the following references
1. an article on an insurance system in Uganda to
which B. Criel contributed
2. an article from 2009 on the impact of
decentralization of health care on district level
health personnel in Indonesia
3. a book on the history of trypanosomiasis in Central
Africa published by Cambridge University
Search strategies: Strategy B
Strategy B: Literature survey on a topic
1.
Describe the topic or research area
2.
Start with 1 or 2 essential search terms; use the thesaurus and/or keyword
index (if available and relevant)
3.
Determine the logical relationship between the selected terms and combine
those terms or search sets using Boolean operators: AND, OR, NOT
4.
Evaluate the results:
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2.
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5.
Look for “better” terms if the results are unsatisfactory
Add extra terms if the result sets are to large
Try broader terms if they are to small
Set limits (language, publication year, publication type, availability) where
relevant
Search strategies: Strategy B
Some extra tips
• Start with the essential, continue in logical steps
• Do not use search terms that are already obvious
• Some very specific terms are better searched in « free text »,
other, broader terms through the thesaurus and/or the
indexes
• Think about synonyms and alternative spellings
• Wildcards (*) can increase useful results
• Avoid complex, nested search sets, try combining clear search
sets instead
• Watch out when using « NOT », some relevant material may
be excluded along with the superfluous
Search strategies: Strategy B
Find some references on safe motherhood
and availability of emergency obstetric
care or competent midwives
Full Text
• Digital, on the Internet?
• On paper, in the ITM library?
Full Text – Digital Access
E-journals
• Most journal websites now offer a digital, full-text edition of
the original printed version (but still not all).
• Most journal websites are limited in time coverage (e.g. last
5-10 years)
• Different access policies:
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Free for all (Open Access, free, with or without embargo)
Free for print-subscribers
Electronic edition at extra cost
Electronic edition only (subscription-based or Open Access)
Full Text – Digital Access
E-journals lists
• ITM
http://lib.itg.be/journals.htm
– Selected full-text journals
– Complete list of over 10,000 full-text journals
• Various portals: e.g. FreeMedicalJournals.com,
HighWire Press Free Online Full-text Articles,
FreeFullText.com, …
Full Text – Digital Access
Open Access initiatives
• HINARI – Health Internetwork: special access conditions for
developing countries (2 groups: free or ‘low price’).
• PubMed Central: free access to established journals after 6
months.
• BMC - BioMed Central: a series of freely available new
electronic-only peer reviewed journals, financed by author
fees.
• PLoS - Public Library of Science: ‘author pays’ journals, e.g.
PLoS Biology, PLoS Medicine, ...
• TropMed Central Antwerp: digital repository of ITM staff
publications (2000-…)
Full Text – Digital Access
Linking database records and full-text articles
• Journal level:
– Check “Full Text Options” in ITG Serials Holding database
• Article level:
– Webspirs: Full text link (PDF) in bibliographic record
– PubMed:
(only via http://lib.itg.be/datab.htm!)
Full Text – Print Version
How to locate documents at the ITM library?
1. Journal articles
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Copy or print all relevant data
Journal and Year are essential !
All periodicals are arranged alphabetically
 Recent issues: upper floor
 Older, bound volumes: lower floor
Full Text – Print Version
How to locate documents at the ITM library?
2. Books
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Copy or print all relevant data
Book Code and Year are essential!
The ITM books are arranged systematically
Full Text – Print Version
How to locate documents at the ITM library?
3. ITM memoirs
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Consult the printed lists or the ITG Student Dissertations
Database
See Collections (e.g. ‘CIPS’) and Volume (call number,
‘M1032’) for the correct identification
Download or request at the library counter (registration!)
Full Text – Print Version
How to locate documents at the ITM library?
4. Grey literature
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Search ITG Books Catalog
Check Series Title for identification
See holdings information:
• This document can be obtained at the ITG Library counter
• This document is in the periodicals section (Issue)
• This document is in the reference section (Statistical & country
information) – See: shelves next to the library computers
Selection of useful websites
ITM Library
http://lib.itg.be
Databases
PubMed
PubMed Central
Scielo – Scientific Electronic Library Online
WHO Library Database WHOLIS
http://www.pubmed.org
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov
http://www.scielo.org
BioMed Central
Free Medical Journals
http://www.who.int/library/
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/
http://www.freemedicaljournals.com
Open Access Projects
HighWire
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Free Access to Developing Economies:
Free Online Full-text Articles:
http://highwire.stanford.edu/lists/devecon.dtl
http://highwire.stanford.edu/lists/freeart.dtl
HINARI
http://www.healthinternetwork.org
INASP – International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications:
http://www.inasp.org.uk