HINARI/E-Resources and Internet Searching (module 1.2)

MODULE 1.2 E-Resources and Internet Searching Instructions - This part of the:  course is a PowerPoint demonstration intended to introduce you to E-Resources and Internet Searching.  module is off-line and is intended as an information resource for reference use.

Table of Contents  Types of Information  Sources of Information  Internet Search Tools  Internet Gateways & Databases  Internet Search Engines  Searching techniques and strategies  Boolean searching  Advanced searching

Why Use E-Resources? An up-to-date resource Convenience Extra features—e.g. search facilities, links to other databases, supplementary information Access to a wider range of material than might otherwise be available within the local medical library

Electronic Library Resources Any library or information resources that can be accessed electronically, e.g. –electronic journals –scholarly databases –electronic books –hybrid digital collections –Internet gateways and search engines Free or fee-based access

Types of Electronic Information Library Catalogues Multimedia Reference Tools Journals Bulletins, Newspapers & Magazines Reports and Grey Literature Databases

Sources of E-Resources Academic –Refereed journals –Review journals –Pre-prints –Bulletins and Reports Non-academic –Professional/trade journals –Magazines –Newspapers –Bulletins and Reports

Electronic Journal Formats Full-text/whole journal available –Electronic version of print –Electronic only Partial full-text/selected articles only Table of contents/citations/abstracts only Citations only Source of the previous four slides is the INASP Training materials on Electronic Library Resources

Sources of Health Information Academic Institutions –London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine –Johns Hopkins University Government Agencies & NGOs –Centers for Disease Control and Prevention –Medecins Sans Frontieres

Sources of Information Publishers and Commercial Databases –Elsevier Science: Science Direct Non Profit/Professional Organizations –British Medical Association International Agencies –World Health Organization –Pan American Health Organization Non-governmental Agencies –Family Health International –Development Gateway

Internet Search tools Which search tools are needed? –Gateways –Databases –Search Engines

Gateway A node or network that serves as an entrance to another network, gateways organize information in a structured way in general or subject categories –Yahoo –WHO A-Z health topics list –Essential Health Links –HINARI/AGORA/OARE

Database A collection of information organized in such a way that a computer –the program can quickly select desired pieces of data –an electronic filing system –traditional databases are organized by fields, records and files –example: PubMed - a free search tool to over 16 million citations

Search Engine A program that searches documents for specified keywords and returns a list of documents where the keywords were found On the WWW, utilizes automated robotics to gather and index information Search options Google Google Scholar (more focused) Yahoo

The Google search engine This is the Google search engine. Type your query into the Google Search box and click on the Google Search button

Search results on Google This is how Google presents the results of your search. Follow the links to the websites you wish to visit.

Web Search Techniques Searching –Overview (define, choose, decide, review/revise) Types of Searches –Browsing –Keyword Searching –Controlled Vocabulary Searching (MeSH)

Searching Strategy Overview Define your information need –What sort of information are you looking for? Is it for specific information? - from a data book, encyclopaedia, dictionary or textbook Is it general information within a subject area? Does the search require more thought and information? –Who is going to use the information? Is it for a clinician, researcher, student or a member of the public?

Choose your search terms –What are the key phrases and/or unique words that might appear in a website or article? –Are there synonyms, alternate spellings, plurals or capitals that should be considered? –What broader topic is the search part of or related to?

Decide which sources to use –What sources are appropriate? This can range from organizations’ websites and news articles to subject gateways and databases, journals, reference resources, e- books or reports and grey literature.

Review and revise your search –Be prepared to review and revise your search scope and strategy – by using other sources of information or other search terms or different combinations of terms or by using a different type of search –Try new sources of information (familiarity is sometimes too easy) –Start again near the beginning of this process if you need to See the INASP “Introduction to Using the Internet” workshop

Search Operators Allow you to focus your search by linking search terms and defining the relationship between them. Some operators take precedence over others when searching a database. Not functional when they are at the beginning or end of a search expression.

Boolean Operators Connect terms and locate records containing matching terms in one of the specified field, both of the specified fields, or all of the specified fields. Inserted in a user fill-in template or search box. Must be in UPPERCASE when used. AND, NOT operators are processed in a left- to right sequence. These are processed first before the OR operators. OR operators are also processed from left to right.

Full Boolean Searching Use Logic Operators –AND –OR –NOT

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 AND example

Boolean example AND results

AND Operator (to combine three concepts) the AND operator is used to combine three concepts e.g. hip AND fracture AND elderly – in the shaded area.

AND 3 terms results

OR Operator (info containing one or other term; will broaden a search) 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

Renal OR Kidney results

NOT Operator (in one term or the other - will narrow a search) pig NOT guinea – in the shaded area; eliminates items in 2 nd term (guinea) or both terms

Nesting Search Terms Enclosing the search terms in parentheses can change the sequence in which the AND and OR operators are processed in a search. The terms inside the parentheses are processed first; i.e. operators inside parentheses have priority over, or operate before, operators used outside parentheses.

Africa AND (malaria OR tuberculosis) malariatuberculosis africa Africa AND (malaria or tuberculosis) – in the shaded area The (OR) operator retains items in each term and the AND operator is used to combine two concepts

Phrase Searching Some databases allow searching of a phrase by enclosing it in single or double quotes (PubMed uses double quotes). Example for PubMed: “health promotion”

Advanced Searching Techniques - Tips Truncation or Wild Cards –* or $ is inserted to find all alternative endings of a word child* for child OR childs OR children staph$ will search for information on staphylococcus OR staphylococcal OR staphylococci –? can be used to substitute for characters anywhere in a word for alternate spellings wom?n would search for “woman” and “women” Proximity Searching –NEXT or NEAR or parentheses e.g. (malaria parasite)

More Search Techniques Field Specific Searching –Title –Date –URL Language Restrictions and other limits (to be discussed in the PubMed searching modules) Relevancy Ranking –a grading that gives extra weight to a document when the search terms appear in the headline or are capitalized –every found document is calculated as 100% multiply by the angle formed by weights vector for request and weights vector for document found

Advanced options

Advanced search results

This is the end of Module 1 This is the end of Module 1.2 There is a Work Book to accompany this part of the module. The workbook will take you through a live session covering the topics included in this demonstration with working examples. Updated