Introduction to Literature Search PDF

INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE SEARCH  What is literature search? Background of literature search Types of publications OUTLINE : Search tools Stages in searching Tips for Effective Searches WHAT IS LITERATURE SEARCH? Litera...

INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE SEARCH  What is literature search? Background of literature search Types of publications OUTLINE : Search tools Stages in searching Tips for Effective Searches WHAT IS LITERATURE SEARCH? Literature search is an exhaustive search for published information on a subject conducted systematically using all available bibliographic finding tools, aimed at locating as much existing material on the topic as possible, an important initial step of any serious research project. 3  BACKGROUND OF LITERATURE SEARCH Availability of various types of academic/scientific publications that support learning, teaching, and research activities. These publications are growing enormously over years, in line with the advancement of information and communication technology. Literature search is one of core academic skills that students and academicians as learned societies need to master to help in learning, doing research project or other academic tasks. 4 TYPES OF PUBLICATIONS Scientific/academic/scholarly Non scientific Text/Reference books Fiction books (novels, comics) Journals (BMJ, JAMA, NEJM, The Magazines Lancet, etc) Newspapers Research reports (papers, theses, dissertations, etc) 5  SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS Written by and aimed at academic Disseminate research Articles cite community (students, findings resources and are lecturers, researchers, peer reviewed experts) High quality and Slow to be published Access if often fee- reliable information due to review based process 6 NON SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS Entertaining, relaxing Readable and light weight Current, popular issues/topics Not always reliable Transient, easily replaced by newer issues 7 CHALLENGES IN LITERATURE SEARCH Growing quantity of publications may cause problems in searching and browsing (recall vs precision) Quality of information (unreliable for some reasons) Availability of information needed Constraints in access due to various reasons (technical, economical, policy) 8 SKILLS IN LITERATURE SEARCH Able to identify various kinds of publications Able to know and use various search tools Able to conduct efficient and effective searches and implement relevant search strategies Able to evaluate the quality of information 9 SEARCH TOOLS Catalog Web search engines Search terms Subject headings Boolean operators Wildcard/Truncation Nesting Limits 10 CATALOG A comprehensive list of the books, periodicals, maps, and other materials in a given collection, arranged in systematic order to facilitate retrieval (usually by author, title, and/or subject). In most modern libraries, the card catalog has been converted to machine-readable bibliographic records and is available online. http://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/searchODLIS.aspx WEB SEARCH ENGINE A web search engine is a tool to search for information on the World Wide Web. The search results are usually presented in a list of results and are commonly called hits. The information may consist of web pages, images, information and other types of files. Search engines: Google and Google Scholar – find out the differences SEARCH TERMS Search term are sometimes also referred as keywords. They can be a subject, topic, or any distinct word used as a point of access. Using appropriate search terms is essential in the process of searching. Thus, before conducting a search it is necessary to brainstorm for possible search terms that represent our search queries. SUBJECT HEADINGS Subject headings are a list of controlled language commonly used to classify library material housed in the collection. They represent the key topic of a publication. An example is MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) developed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) BOOLEAN LOGIC Boolean is a system of logic developed by the English mathematician George Boole (1815-64) that allows the user to combine words or phrases representing significant concepts when searching an online catalog or bibliographic database by keywords. Logical commands or “operators” commonly used in searching are AND, OR and NOT. In some databases AND operator is represented by a symbol + and sometimes it is only used implicitly (no need to type it between terms). BOOLEAN OPERATOR AND OPERATOR (TO COMBINE TWO CONCEPTS AND NARROW A SEARCH) the AND operator is used to combine two concepts e.g. hip AND fracture – in the shaded area; retrieves items containing all the search terms BOOLEAN OPERATOR OR Operator (to broaden search by including synonyms and related terms in the query) renal OR kidney – in the shaded area with the overlap in the middle having both search terms; retrieves items containing either search term or both search terms BOOLEAN OPERATOR NOT operator (to exclude unwanted records from search results) pig NOT guinea – in the shaded area; eliminates items in 2nd term (guinea) or both terms GROUPING/NESTING Nesting, represented by symbol ( ), is a technique of searching that considers similar concepts, indicated by logical command OR and expressed in different terms, as a single term. Examples : (fever OR febrile) (paracetamol OR acetaminophen) (kidney OR renal) TRUNCATION/WILDCARD Truncation is a searching technique used in database in which a word ending is replaced by symbols. Symbol of truncation can be (*) , (?) or ($) depending on the database Examples : When we type child* the result of our search will be documents that contain the words child, children, childhood, or childcare LIMITS/FILTERS Most databases offer limit functions to help users limit search results that are too broad or too many Limits are commonly specified according to: - date of publication - type of publications (books, journals, news, etc) - age group - language - sex (male/female) - type of files STAGE IN SEARCHING Define search topics Choose appropriate search terms/keywords that represent the topic Decide where to search/which sources to use (e.g. library catalog, online databases) Develop search strategy by optimizing search tools Observe search results Revise the search as necessary SEARCHING IN PUBMED: An example Pubmed Search Phrase ( 30-01-2025) (child* OR infant*) 2,191,167 (child* OR infant) AND malaria OR tuberculosis 210,899 (child* OR infant*) AND malaria AND 466 tuberculosis (child* OR infant*) AND malaria OR 2,299 tuberculosis AND Southeast Asia 22 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE SEARCHES Plan your search – identify the words that represent the topic of your search Avoid using too broad or general terms, use specific terms instead to get limited but relevant results. Use limit/filter functions as necessary Create an account. Most online databases allow you to sign up for an account/personal folder in their database that helps you manage searches, search results or references, set up preferences, alerts, and many others.