How to source the best evidence Pat Maier, Paul Boagy and Alan Glasper How to Write Your Nursing Dissertation, First Edition. Alan Glasper and Colin Rees. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

How to source the best evidence We are going to look at: Exploring and Refining your Question Searching for Research Articles Devising your Search Strategy Accessing the Journal Literature The Cochrane Library Websites and other Resources Support from your Library Service

Exploring & Refining your Question 1.Identify the topic of your research  Have an intrinsic interest in your topic  Check you will find sufficient references Use NHS Evidence Base & search a topicNHS Evidence Base Evidence under: Diagnosis, economics, etiology, prognosis, symptoms or therapy

Exploring & Refining your Question 2.Identify the approach you’ll take Road map: trace history of topic, add critical reflection – works like a review. Identify time period or location to narrow your focus Here we go again: use current knowledge/ findings etc and attempt to verify/refute it. Can I prove it?: Testing a hypothesis; experimental approach. Swiss cheese: Identify holes in current knowledge and attempt to say why/fill the gap. Eye ball switch: Look at existing findings/conclusions in the light of new knowledge. Anything else?

Exploring & Refining your Question 3. Refine your research question to target your research  Your aspect? Diagnosis, economics, etiology, prognosis, symptoms, therapy, other.  The scope? Age of patients, gender, intervention, other.  If not patients : geographical area, time period, types of hospitals, trusts, other. What is your research question?

Identify key search words Develop a method to identify words  Mind map concepts for your question  Identify areas and populate with key words (use linear rectangle to hold this information) Search words may change but keep a record.

Searching for Research Articles Use bibliographic databases  Online resource of published articles  Easier to search  Can get book chapters, articles, policy documents, government reports  Access to abstracts and reference lists Use current awareness databases  Inform you of latest research (by )  You search latest research  Try Current Contents/OvidCurrent Contents/Ovid

Searching for Research Articles For NHS evidence : Health Information ResourcesHealth Information Resources  This is a federated facility, i.e. it searches multiple databases (you can choose)  University library portals are also a federated facility  See chapter for list of databases most used in medical field.

Searching for Research Articles Help screens available on these databases Library staff there to help

Devising your Search Strategy Use identified key words Use subject thesaurus  e.g. Medline & British Nursing Index, CINAHLCINAHL Use truncation  e.g. assess* - results Assessed/assessing/assessment etc Use wildcard  e.g. p?ediatric – results Paediatric and pediatric

Devising your Search Strategy Use boolean logic  AND Include both search words in search String ANDs to include a longer list of words All search words then need to be in the result  OR Allows for at least one of the search words to appear in the result.  NOT Excludes a word from the search e.g. child* NOT childcare

Devising your Search Strategy Imposing restrictions on your search  Language: select language/s  Date: limit the time period of the search  Material: limit to journal articles or books or both but not other reference material  Specific methodologies: only in some databases e.g. clinical queries limit in MedlineMedline

Devising your Search Strategy Why not Google?  It is too random an approach  You will miss the key research  You may have less peer assessed material  Peer assessed material that is available is usually old

Accessing the Journal Literature eJournals  Your institution will subscribe to a set of journals  You will have access if you are a member of that institution  If you are not, you will have to pay for the article.

Accessing the Journal Literature Printed Journals  Search on your institutions database  You will need to photocopy the article as you cannot borrow a whole journal  Printed articles are predominantly now for older articles Inter-library Loan  For a printed resource that is currently at a different library.

The Cochrane Library Provides the best evidence Most important resource of health care treatments and interventions Comprises a number of different databases – see chapter Sophisticated searching facility List of systematic reviews searchable via  Topic, protocols, updated reviews, A-Z, Cochrane Review Group

Websites and Other Resources Evaluation of websites  Check out IntuteIntute  The subject Gateways  Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health is a subject gateway on Intute  Use: Health Information Resources websiteHealth Information Resources

Support from your Library Service