training guide - Leeds Libraries

www.evidence.nhs.uk
Finding the evidence: using healthcare databases
effectively to support your work
Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust
Leeds & York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
www.leedslibraries.nhs.uk
Version. June 2014
Contents
What are healthcare databases?
3
Plan your search
4
Choose a database
7
Access
8
Free text searching
9
Using Boolean Operators
10
Thesaurus searching
12
Map to Thesaurus
13
Combining searches
19
Applying limits
20
Viewing results
21
Managing Results
23
Saving Searches
24
Creating Alerts
26
Recover searches
28
Searching using fields or tags
29
Searching in more than one database
30
Using the clipboard
32
Troubleshooting
35
2
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
What are healthcare databases?
This guide will show you how to use the 8 healthcare databases provided free through the
NICE Evidence interface.
The databases contain references, often with informative summaries or abstracts, to journal
articles, guidelines, manuscripts, dissertations and book chapters. They cover every aspect of
healthcare – from buildings and equipment through public health to social care to medicine
and nursing and everything in between.
With the exception of ‘Health Business Elite’ (which is a full text database), the databases are
bibliographic and only contain summary information about the full publication. Where a full
text copy of an article is available, a link will be displayed from the reference and you will be
able to download the article free of charge.
Here is an example of a reference from one of the bibliographic healthcare databases:
Title:
A randomized controlled trial of two weight-reducing short-term group treatment programs for obesity with an 18-month follow-up.
Citation:
International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 2007, vol./is. 14/1(48-55), 1070-5503
Author(s):
Stahre L,Tarnell B,Hakanson CE,Hallstrom T
Abstract:
We found in an earlier study that participants in a short-term treatment program for obesity showed a good weight reduction (10.4 kg) 18
months after treatment terminated. The program included elements from cognitive therapy (CT) and psychoeducation. In the present study
the efficacy of a slight modification of the same treatment program (cognitive treatment group) was compared with a behavioral program that
included moderate-intensity physical activity and behavioral techniques (the control treatment group) in a randomized controlled trial. The
primary effect variable was weight change 18 months after the end of therapy. Both treatment programs lasted for 10 weeks (2 hr/week), and
thereafter the participants were weighed periodically over an 18-month period. The participants were obese women employed outside the
home. Twelve of the participants did not receive treatment after randomization. Eleven of these participants had been randomized to the
cognitive program, whereas the remaining participant was randomized to the control program. The mean age for those that began the 2
programs was 48.5 years, and the mean body mass index (BMI) was 36.6. For those who completed the treatment programs and
participated in the 18-month follow-up, the baseline BMI was 34.7. One participant in the cognitive treatment group (n=16) and 6 in the
control program (n=26) dropped out during treatment. Both per-protocol and intention-to-treat analyses were performed on the data. Fifteen
participants (94%) completed the cognitive program. Of these, 13 (87%) participated at the 18-month follow-up. Their mean weight loss at
treatment completion was 8.6 kg(SD=2.9) and 18 months later 5.9 kg (SD=5.4). Twenty participants (77%) completed the control program.
Of these, 16 (80%) participated in the 18-month follow-up. Their mean weight loss at the end of treatment was 0.7 kg (SD=1.2), and 18
months later they showed an increase in weight of 0.3 kg (SD=4.3) as compared with baseline weight. The weight differences between the 2
program groups were highly significant (p
Language:
English
Publication type:
Journal Article,Randomized Controlled Trial,Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Subject Heading(s):
Adult
*Cognitive Therapy
*Diet, Reducing
Female
Humans
Middle Aged
*Obesity/th [Therapy]
Patient Education as Topic
Time Factors
*Weight Loss
Source:
MEDLINE
Full Text: Available in fulltext at EBSCO Host
3
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
Plan your search
Before you begin searching, it is important to plan your search, giving some thought to what
you are looking for and where you might find it.
The key steps in planning your search are:
1. Define a clearly focussed question
2. Identify the key terms to search
3. Identify which resource(s) to use
Example a
Step 1
Be specific and formulate a clear question
“Information about epidural analgesia in amputations” becomes:
Is epidural analgesia more effective than hypnosis in reducing phantom limb pain in
lower limb amputation?
Step 2
PICO can be used to identify your key terms.
Patient or
Population
Intervention
or Exposure
Comparisons
(if required)
Outcomes
WHO?
Is the treatment or
procedure being
delivered to?
WHAT?
Is the treatment or
procedure being
delivered?
HOW MUCH
BETTER?
Is the procedure than
another?
HOW?
Is the effect of the
intervention or
exposure measured?
WHAT?
Is the condition or
problem?
WHAT?
Is happening to the
patient or population?
BETTER THAN
WHAT?
What alternatives are
there?
WHAT?
Can be achieved?
P – Patient / Population / Problem
I - Intervention / exposure
C - Comparison
O - Outcome
Amputation
Epidural analgesia
Hypnosis
Phantom limb pain
You may not need all four elements to construct your search; at least two should give some
useful results.
4
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
Example b
Step 1
Be specific and formulate a clear question
“Information about cognitive behaviour therapy and obesity” becomes:
Are psychotherapy interventions effective in achieving weight loss in obese
patients?
Step 2
PICO can be used to identify your key terms. In this example ‘comparison’ is left blank. The
researcher is not interested in a specific comparison.
Patient or
Population
Intervention
or Exposure
Comparisons
(if required)
Outcomes
WHO?
Is the treatment or
procedure being
delivered to?
WHAT?
Is the treatment or
procedure being
delivered?
HOW MUCH
BETTER?
Is the procedure than
another?
HOW?
Is the effect of the
intervention or
exposure measured?
WHAT?
Is the condition or
problem?
WHAT?
Is happening to the
patient or population?
BETTER THAN
WHAT?
What alternatives are
there?
WHAT?
Can be achieved?
P – Patient / Population / Problem
I - Intervention / exposure
C - Comparison
O - Outcome
Obesity
Psychotherapy
Weight loss
5
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
The diagram below can be used to help you organise your search terms. It includes Boolean
Operators (see p. 10) and indicates how to use them to combine your search terms in a
meaningful way. Use this to plan your own search.
Patient or
Population
Intervention
or Exposure
Comparisons
(if required)
Outcomes
WHO?
Is the treatment or
procedure being
delivered to?
WHAT?
Is the treatment or
procedure being
delivered?
HOW MUCH
BETTER?
Is the procedure than
another?
HOW?
Is the effect of the
intervention or
exposure measured?
WHAT?
Is the condition or
problem?
WHAT?
Is happening to the
patient or population?
BETTER THAN
WHAT?
What alternatives are
there?
WHAT?
Can be achieved?
P
I
C
O
Concept 1
Concept 2
Concept 3
Concept 4
Use OR to combine like
terms and synonyms
Use OR to combine like
terms and synonyms
Use OR to combine like
terms and synonyms
Use OR to combine like
terms and synonyms
AND
AND
AND
AND
AND
6
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
Step 3
Think about all of the resources that are available. Healthcare databases will not always be
the most appropriate, or the only source for your query. E.g. a reference book or statistical
publication might be useful.
Choose a database
The database you choose should be based on the topic that you are searching for – see the
list below. You may need to search more than one to be thorough, so think about any others
you will search later.
Allied and Complementary Medicine (AMED) 1985 to present
Covers occupational therapy, physiotherapy, rehabilitation, plus alternative medicine: acupuncture,
chiropractic, homeopathy, yoga, hypnosis, etc. Indexes over 400 English and European journals.
British Nursing Index (BNI) 1985 to present
A UK focused database covering A&E, neonatal, cancer, theatres, orthopaedic nursing, etc. Details of
articles from over 250 key English language nursing and midwifery journals.
Cumulative Index of Nursing & Allied Health (CINAHL) 1981 to present
A US database covering all aspects of nursing and allied health. Subjects covered include optometry,
radiologic technology, speech and language pathology, nutrition. Contains materials from over 1,200
journals, theses and pamphlets.
EMBASE 1980 to present
With particular emphasis on European sources, this database covers the whole field of medicine.
Drugs, pharmacology and substance abuse are particularly well covered using 5,000 journals about
1,500 not used in Medline.
Health Business Elite
Contains full text content from 480 journals, detailing all aspects of health care administration and
other non-clinical aspects of health care institution management.
HMIC 1979 to present
Comprises DH Data and Kings Fund databases both of which cover UK NHS health services
management, policy and standards and social care. DH Data includes planning - financial, building
and equipment; public health; toxicity studies on specific chemicals. The majority of DH Data records
are from 1983 onwards, although coverage of departmental materials dates back to 1919. Kings
Fund’s focus is on improvements in health and health care, covering health inequalities, partnership
working and workforce development (1979 to date).
MEDLINE 1950 to present
This is a large US database of medical information. Other subjects covered include dentistry,
veterinary medicine, medical psychology, genetics and advanced nursing practice. The database
covers over 5,000 journals from 70 countries.
PsycINFO 1806 to present
Subjects covered relate to clinical, social and biological areas of psychology. These include addiction,
pharmacology, anthropology and law. Published by the American Psychological Association, material
is included from 2,000 international periodicals.
Cochrane systematic reviews are indexed in CINAHL, EMBASE and MEDLINE however there is a
delay of up to six months from publication to inclusion in these databases. If you are looking for a
systematic review check the free website http://www.thecochranelibrary.com (no username and
password needed) in addition to the above databases.
7
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
Access
You will need an NHS Athens username and password to use these databases. To register
go to: https://register.athensams.net/nhs/. If you are on a trust network you will receive your
username and password straight away.
You can access the healthcare databases from:
 The NHS Leeds Libraries web pages http://www.leedslibraries.nhs.uk. Select
Healthcare Databases from the Quick Links box. Enter your NHS Athens username
and password in the LOG IN box. Click on the database name.

The NICE Evidence home page http://www.evidence.nhs.uk. Click on Journals and
Databases and then click on Healthcare databases advanced search. Enter your
NHS Athens username and password in the LOG IN box. Click on the database
name.
Advanced Search is recommended. You will be able to control each step of your search to
build a strategy with flexibility. More importantly, you can make use of the database’s own
indexing thesaurus to construct a comprehensive and focussed search, tailored to your
subject. It is advisable that you search in more than one database and that you search each
database individually.
To demonstrate the advanced search, we will conduct a literature search to find articles about
a scenario using the MEDLINE database.
You will now see the following screen. This will look the same in whichever database you
choose.
8
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
Free text searching
There are two approaches to searching the healthcare databases:
‘free text’ and ‘thesaurus’
Free text searching is simple and quick. You enter your term into the search box and click
‘search’. The database will show all of the records that contain your term.
It is important to be aware of the limitations of free text searching.
e.g. a free text search for “stroke” will retrieve the following article:
Can functional electric stimulation assisted rowing reproduce a race winning stroke? Archives
of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2004, Aug, Vol: 85 (8), P:1265-72

x
Easy
No context to words searched/more
irrelevant results
Need to think of all synonyms for a
comprehensive search
Need to consider alternative
spellings
BUT
Quick
Use your own terminology
Sometimes there is no thesaurus term available, so a free text search is the only option.
These tools will help optimise a free text search
*
*n
The asterisk is the ‘wildcard’. Use it at the end of a word to
retrieve variant endings e.g. depress* will retrieve depression,
depressive, depressed, depressing etc
Use a number with the wildcard to control how many letters to
allow in the variant word endings e.g. therap*4 will retrieve
therapy, therapist, therapists, but not therapeutic, therapeutics
etc
“”
Use quotation marks to search for a phrase e.g. “blood clot”
adj
Use adj to find words next to each other in the same order e.g.
mass adj screening
adjn
Use adjn to find words within the specified number of words of
each other, in any order e.g. patient adj4 safety will find
‘safety considerations for the patient’ and ‘improvements in
the safety of patient care’
9
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
Use the terms identified from the PICO exercise to form your search strategy.
Enter each term separately.
Enter your term
and click the
search button
By default, your
term will be
searched in the
title and abstract
fields
Enter all 3 of your search terms in the same way until you have built your search strategy. At
this point, you have 3 independent searches. You must use Boolean Operators to combine
the searches in a meaningful way.
Using Boolean operators
To combine searches we use Boolean operators. The most common Boolean operators are
AND, OR and NOT.
Operator What will happen to my
search
AND
Narrows your search
OR
Broadens your search
NOT
Narrows your search
Articles including both search terms will be
retrieved
Articles including either search term will be
retrieved
Articles including only the first search term will be
retrieved
10
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
Examples:
The area shaded is the information returned
Mattresses AND
Pressure sores
This would return:
Articles about mattresses and pressure sores
This would not return:
Articles about mattresses only
Articles about pressure sores only
Mattresses OR
This would return:
Articles about mattresses only
Articles about pressure sores only
Articles about mattresses and pressure sores
Pressure sores
Mattresses NOT
Pressure sores
This would return:
Articles about mattresses where pressure sores are not
mentioned
This would not return:
Articles about pressure sores only
Articles about mattresses and pressure sores
Select the
searches to
combine and click
‘combine selected
searches’
AND is the default
operator
11
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
There are 40
references
containing all of
your search terms
Limitations of example free text search
Searching using the term ‘Psychotherap* ‘only retrieved references where the author refers to
psychological interventions as psychotherapies (or a variant of the stem psychotherap*).
References have not been retrieved where authors have used the name of specific therapies
e.g. CBT, group therapy, family therapy etc. The same applies to the term ‘obesity’ and
‘weight loss’.
Thesaurus searching
Each database is indexed by subject specialists who read the articles and assign subject
terms to describe, as specifically as possible, the content of the article. The subject terms
come from standardised lists of vocabulary and definitions, which are known as thesauri.
These subject terms are organised in a tree structure. Below is an example of the tree
structure.
More
general
terms are
to the left
of the tree


More
specific
terms are
to the right
of the tree
The idea behind the use of thesauri is that all the articles about the same concept are
assigned the same subject heading, regardless of the words the author uses in his article.
Example: whooping cough and pertussis
Articles containing either of these terms are indexed under whooping cough, the thesaurus
term for this disease.
12
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
Map to Thesaurus
If you are doing a literature search using a healthcare database, but don’t know the correct
term to use, the system has a feature called Map to Thesaurus which will locate it for you.
Example: if you type in any of the following:
renal stones,
kidney stones,
renal calculi,
kidney calculi,
The Map to
Thesaurus points to
kidney
calculi
Some databases have an American bias and as such some organisations, terminology or
initiatives within the NHS that do not exist in the USA tend to be placed within the nearest
American equivalent. If in doubt check the scope note.
Example: Clinical Governance does not exist as a subject.
Clinical
governance
The Map to
Thesaurus points to
Quality
Assurance,
Health Care
Select this subject and combine with a free text title and abstract search for the best results.
Using Map to Thesaurus
Enter your search term and tick the Map to Thesaurus box. Click Search.
Terms which match the concept of your search will then be displayed:
13
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
Click on the
term in which
you are
interested to
see more
information
Click on the Scope
note for a definition of
the term
Putting a tick in
the Explode box
next to
Psychotherapy
will search for all
types of
psychotherapy.
(including terms
‘tucked’ beneath
the + sign – see
below)
The + sign
(expand) signifies
that there are
further narrower
terms ‘tucked’
beneath. Click the
+ sign to reveal
them
e.g. cognitive
therapy is a
narrower term of
behaviour therapy
Put a tick in the Select box if you are
only interested in searching a single
term e.g. horticultural therapy
Exploded will expand your subject by searching for your term plus any related and narrower
terms listed (indented) below. Choose whether to use Exploded or Select based on your
search subject.
It is possible to break down your subject and focus on a particular aspect. Do this by ticking
the Subheadings box next to your chosen subject. These are specific characteristics of a
thesaurus term that enable you to focus your subject:
14
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
To see the
subheadings tick
the Subheadings
tick symbol and
they will appear.
Then choose the
subheading(s) you
want to include.
You can select Major if you wish your search to retrieve only articles where your search term
represents the major focus of the article.
The table below shows how choosing Select, Exploded, Major or Subheadings affects the
number of results your search returns.
/ shows that this is a
subject search
Free text search on the title and
abstract fields
exp shows a subject is Exploded to
include more specific terms
* means that this subject has been
restricted by Major (when the
subject is one of the main parts of
the article)
td [td=Trends] is a Subheading so
has restricted the subject to that
aspect only
15
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
In this example we are interested in all kinds of psychotherapy, where the terms have been
identified as the major focus of the article. So select Explode and Major then click Search to
continue.
Free text searches
Thesaurus search
Repeat the process for the other terms in your search strategy.
Enter your search term and tick the Map to Thesaurus box. Click Search.
Terms which match the concept of your search will then be displayed:
Click on the
term in which
you are
interested to
see more
information
In this example we are
interested in the therapeutic
aspect of either obesity or
morbid obesity.
16
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
Tick the subheadings box next
to obesity. Select therapy and
click Apply.
Tick the subheadings box next
to morbid obesity. Select
therapy and click Apply then
click Search.
17
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
Free text searches
Thesaurus searches
Repeat the process for the other term in your search strategy.
Enter your search term and tick the Map to Thesaurus box. Click Search.
Click on the
term in which
you are
interested to
see more
information
Select the
single term
weight loss
18
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
All of these lines are
independent. To find
articles where all
subjects are
mentioned you need
to combine the
terms.
Combining searches
To combine search
terms, tick the boxes in
the select column,
choose AND and click
Combine Selected
19
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
This search has
located 319 articles
that contain
information about
ALL three subjects
You can refine your search further using a number of ‘limits’. Common ones include
‘publication year’, ‘language’ and ‘publication type’.
Applying limits
To apply limits, click the Apply Limits link on the line of the search you wish to limit and select
the relevant limits.
The choice of Limits will differ in individual databases.
 You can apply more than one limit at a time.
 To select multiple options from the Limit options, hold down the CTRL key.
 Note that selections from a dropdown list are combined with OR, while selections from
different limits are combined with AND.
 The Clear all limit and search options function allows for quick re-setting of search
parameters.
20
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
You can select more
than one limit at
once or build them
up to see the
difference in results.
Limits stay on
unless they are
actively cleared.
Viewing results
Click on the number of results in the View Results column to display a list of articles related
to your search.
21
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
You can change the way your results are displayed according to your preference:
To see abstracts
on the page (if
available) tick
the Display
Abstracts
button
Results can be sorted by
publication date, author or
title
Navigate through
the pages
Choose to display
5,10, 20 or 50 results
per page

Once you are looking at the results the options for accessing the article will be listed
underneath the individual result.
Click on the title of
an article to see a
summary or abstract
(if available).
Some will have links to the full text article
which can be saved or printed.
Some will have links to a local library
where a print copy is available.
Occasionally the publisher’s database of journal articles needs a further prompt to recognise
your NHS Athens username and password - look for the Log in using Athens link.
Where there are no links under the Full Text heading please consult your local library. They
will be able to give you more information about obtaining these copies.
22
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
Managing results
Look at every available page, and select the relevant results by putting a tick in the box next
to the title. You can then manage your search results using the panel found at the bottom of
the page.
To view or save selected
results click Save
Results otherwise click
Email Results.
Shows how many
results have been
selected and gives
various Select options.
PDF and Medium are the recommended
formatting options. This will give the
abstract and full text links for each article
if available.
Choose whether to
include the Search
History.
If you wish to output a large number of records at
once, you can do this in batches of 200, up to a limit
of 1,000.
First select 1-200, then select your output formats
and click on either Export Results or Email Results.
Then return to the outputs panel, click on Deselect
all and select 201-400 and proceed as before.
PDF and Medium will display the selected results as shown over the page.
23
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
Saving Searches
You can save your search history to work on at a later date.
To save all of your search history, click Save All.
24
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
If you only want to save some of the search history, tick the rows you want to save and click
Save Selected Lines.
On the following screen give your search a meaningful name and click Save.
25
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
To retrieve and re-run a saved search, select Saved Searches from the box in the left hand
column.
Your saved searches will then be displayed. Click Run Search to run the search again.
Creating Alerts
An Alert will automatically email you any new information published in your subject area
based on the search history you have created. (This saves you from having to manually rerun your search history every week/month etc.)
To create an Alert, follow the same steps as described in saving, but when you save your
search, click Save & Create Alert instead.
26
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
On the following alert screen enter an email address that you would like your alert to be
delivered to and choose a format, detail type and frequency of delivery from the drop down
menus.
Click Save Alert to save your alert.
27
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
You can view, edit or delete saved alerts by clicking on Alerts.
Recover Searches
If you lose your current search e.g. due to a system crash or timeout, you can recover an
‘auto saved’ version.
Click on ‘recover searches’, select the top (most recent) search and click ‘recover search’.
If you have deduplicated any searches, these will not be included.
28
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
Searching using fields or tags
To search by Author you need to type the author’s name in one of the following ways (again
using quotation marks) and select the Author field from the menu.
“Kendrick*”
"Kendrick t"
“Kendrick t*”
"Kendrick tm"
if you only know the surname use the *
if you know that the author has only one first name
if you are not sure about given names
if you know subsequent names
.au denotes that this is an
author search.
To search by Journal, change the drop-down field to Journal name and enter the Journal
title within quotation marks.
.jn denotes that this is a
journal search and then this
has been combined with the
author search.
29
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
Use the appropriate fields from the drop-down menu for your search. You can also enter their
tag directly into the search box if required e.g. “Archives of Surgery”.jn
Field (tag)
Description
Title (.ti)
Use this tag to search all record titles for the search term e.g. using Title would
return all records with diabetes in the title.
Any field (.af)
Use this tag to search all record fields for the search term.
Abstract(.ab)
Use this tag to search all record abstracts for the search term e.g. using Abstract
would return all records with diabetes in the record abstract.
Accession
number (.an)
The unique ID number given to a record when entered into the MEDLINE
database.
Author (.au)
Use this tag to search all record author fields for the search term. e.g.
Title & Abstract
(.ti,.ab)
Use this tag to search both the Title and Abstract fields for the search term. e.g.
a search on diabetes will search both Title and Author fields in each record.
Journal issue (.p)
The number of the journal issue in which the article was published, e.g. volume
13, number 4
Journal name
(.jn)
Use this tag to search for a specific journal title e.g. “Archives of Surgery”
Pagination (.pg)
A search using the Pagination tag searches for specific page numbers within
each record.
Publication type
(.pt)
The Publication Type tag describes the type of material the record represents
(e.g., Review, Clinical Trial, Retracted Publication, Letter).
Searching in more than one database
Once you have run your search in one database it is often useful to run the search in another
more specialised database.
First complete your search in one database then click in the Search Another Drop down
menu.
30
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
Choose your second database. In this example PsycINFO is selected. You can then choose
to Re-run all line number or Re-run selected line numbers. It is recommended that you
choose to Re-run selected line numbers and select only those lines relating to free text
searches as each database has its own thesaurus and terms differ from database to
database.
Once you have two searches from different databases that are completed and you wish to
make no further changes you can combine the lines and remove any results that are
duplicated.
Note:
You cannot make any changes once two sets have gone through de-duplication.
If you have more than 500 hits in total you will not be able to use duplication. In this case either enter
some more search terms from your PICO structure or consider using limits to reduce the numbers
further.
If you still cannot reduce the numbers of articles returned and wish to look at them all, look at the hits
in the two sets separately and use the clipboard function to combine them which will automatically deduplicate.
Tick the lines you wish to combine and click Remove Duplicates
You will see a pop up message click OK
31
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
You can view the finished hits, select and export as usual. You can also check the duplicate
results if needed.
Using the clipboard
You can use the clipboard to manage your results. In the example below there is more than
one set that may have useful results.
Click on the first set that you wish to view.
32
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
Tick the boxes of the articles that you want to keep and click on Copy to clipboard
Note:
Saving your results to clipboard is temporary; it will only save them for the current session.
You can save a maximum of 500 results to the clipboard.
Continue to select articles and add them to the clipboard. If you choose the same article again
the system will automatically remove the duplicate item.
At any time you can look at the results you have selected. Click on view your clipboard
33
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
When you are in
the clipboard the
panel will give you
the option to Exit.
You can tick items
and Remove them
from the clipboard.
You can then manage your search results using the panel at the bottom of each page as you
would in the normal results display mode.
34
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
Troubleshooting
What to do if you don’t find what you are looking for.
Searching for literature can occasionally lead to unsatisfactory results. There are generally
two types of problem that may be encountered:
 Too many irrelevant articles in the search result
 Too few relevant articles generated by the search.
Ideally when carrying out a literature search the results should find all of the articles which are
relevant to the question, while excluding any article which is not relevant.
Too Many Irrelevant Articles
If the search results contain a large amount of irrelevant articles try:
 Using the Limits, such as limit to geographical location, age group,
 Limiting the date of publication range.
 Using the NOT command to exclude a concept which is not wanted. Use only if results
have a strong bias towards a topic that you do not want at all as you may remove some
useful information.
Not Enough Useful Articles
If the search results do not contain enough useful articles try:




Searching in an alternative database.
Widening your search – your search may contain too many subjects. Try removing one of
the search terms or limits.
Using the OR command, For example ‘wound care’ OR ‘wound management’
Try using free text searching (i.e. looking for the words in the title and abstract) in
conjunction with your Thesaurus search.
If you are searching for results in a new area of research there may be few published articles.
35
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014
Need some support? Or want to know more?
To build on your knowledge after this course, more in depth training is available where you
can:
Receive support to apply search skills to your particular topic
Learn about more functions of the database
Get help if your search isn’t giving you the information you need
To book a one-to-one session or get help and support for database searching, please contact
your local Library Services Team.
Details available from www.leedslibraries.nhs.uk
Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust
Leeds & York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
36
Based on a guide created by NLH Search 2.0 Representatives Group
Last updated: June 2014

Download Report