1. MSTAH 2005/06 SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE DISCOVERY & ACCESS ITM Library, March 2006

2. Major themes Searching for reliable information Scientific literature Bibliographic databases Full-text electronic journals Linking databases and journal articles

3. The purpose of searching Reliable information on specific topics All the essential information without irrelevant side-tracks

4. Information sources Remember from your education/training Read in your personal book collection Ask a colleague (expert?) Visit a good library (available?) Look up on the internet (WWW) - Search engines (e.g. Google) - Structured directories (e.g. Yahoo) - Websites of organizations (e.g. IVIS)

7. Use of internet indexes Some disadvantages: Relevance? Types of information: too general or fragmentary – not the published research results Reliability? Not controlled by peer review Complete survey? A lot is always missing (e.g. the ‘deep web’), but you don’t know which part Limited search modalities (refinements?) Unclear relevance ranking (manipulated?) Conclusion: unfit for a systematic analysis

8. Scientific literature Result of scientific research (‘publication’) Source for future scientific research (‘archive’)

9. Primary literature Journal articles Recent findings Specific topics Indexed widely in popular databases Widespread distribution in libraries and internet Books Less-up-to-date Broader scope Indexed only partially in the databases Limited availability in libraries and internet

10. Scientific journals Over 20.000 biomedical journals? Essential: periodical issues, via subscription Important quality filter: peer review Status: inclusion in major databases (e.g. Medline, CAB Abstracts, citation indexes) Status: hierarchies, often also based on citation data (e.g. ‘Journal Impact Factors’)

11. Animal health journals Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences Bulletin of Animal Health and Production in Africa Tropical Animal Health and Production Tropical Veterinarian Veterinary Parasitology Veterinary Record …

12. Non-journal literature Books  Monographs [generally a specific topic]  Textbooks [broader field + large or multivolume] Dissertations Grey Literature [‘unpublished’ ?]  Conference proceedings, reports, …  Limited distribution documents

13. Secondary literature Bibliographic indexes: listings of journal contents  => Now: bibliographic databases Abstract journals : incl. critical summaries  => Now: bibliographic databases Review journals : systematic => synthesis  => Now: knowledge databases

14. Bibliographic databases Contents: the databases cover clearly defined subject areas and sources (e.g. a specific journal collection) Structured bibliographic descriptions containing a number of searchable fields (author, title, journal name, type) Search tools include thesaurus (controlled keywords, hierarchically organized) and alphabetical index(es)

15. Some examples ITG Book and Document Holdings ITG Student Dissertations ITG Staff Publications Tropical Endemic Diseases Control See: ‘http://lib.itg.be/datab.htm’

16. Some characteristics Produced by ITM library staff Relatively small; e.g. 5,000 records Limited to relevant topics and collections Focus on developing countries All publication types are included Free keywords; no thesaurus Availability of full-text in the ITM library + link to electronic full-text (if available)

17. Search strategies: 1. Where to start ? Select an appropriate database! Criteria: - scope: time frame + subjects covered - full-text accessibility (print? PDF? …) - document types included (books? …)

18. Search strategies: 2. How much is needed? Reference or location of a specific document (a) or More or less extensive literature survey on a topic (b)

19. (a): Specific document(s) Determine the most specific elements Search for those in the appropriate fields Use the indexes to verify spelling

20. Are the following books in the library? If so, where can you find them? Kaufmann J. Parasitic infections of domestic animals. Basel, Birkhaüser Verlag, 1996. Van den Bossche P. The development of a new strategy for the sustainable control of bovine trypanosomiasis in Southern Africa. Pretoria: University of Pretoria, Faculty of Veterinary Science, 2000.  Select the appropriate database  What specific elements distinguish this reference from most others?  Specify the appropriate fields if necessary (e.g. ‘… in TI’)  Look for the location coordinates (library subject code)

21. Generate a list of ITM theses about theileriosis + in English  Open the appropriate database (‘ITG Student Dissertations’)  Theiler*  #1  LA=English  #2  #1 and #2  #3  Alternative: #1 + use the ‘Limit’ button

22. Find the following references … the 2005 article of S. Geerts on Glossina tachinoides in Ghana … … the recent article on Trypanosoma brucei in cattle published in Tropical Medicine and International Health … … recently a new book on trypanosomes was published by CABI … …the CD-ROM of edition of the Merck veterinary manual…

23. International databases Pro Broad coverage Large volume Well structured keyword systems Weekly updates Contra Articles only USA/UK/English bias Other continents are underrepresented No relation with available ITM collection

24. Some examples Medline / PubMed (NLM) CAB Abstracts Veterinary Science Database (CAB) See: ‘http://lib.itg.be/datab.htm’

25. (b): Information on a topic Select an appropriate database Describe the topic or research area Start with 1 or 2 essential terms Use Boolean operators: AND; OR; NOT Add extra terms if the result sets are too large Try broader terms if they are too small Set limits (language, publication year, publication type, availability)

26. Additional tips Truncation (‘*’) may increase your results Think about synonyms and alternative spellings Evaluate the results + look for ‘better’ keywords ‘Free text’ vs. ‘thesaurus’ and/or the indices Avoid complex, nested term formulations, try combining clear search sets instead Watch out when using «not», some relevant material may be excluded along with the superfluous

27. Handling records Display options: brief fields vs. all fields Mark / Unmark records Print options: select records and fields to print Download options: idem + location

28. More exercises Find recent English literature (2000-2005) on the following topics: Control of foot-and-mouth disease in Africa Epidemiology of taeniasis in Southeast Asia

29. Availability of the full-text ? On paper, in the ITM library? Digital, on the Internet?

30. How to locate the (paper) documents at the ITM library? 1. Journal articles  Check if the ITM library holds the journal (‘*LHM’ field or periodicals catalogue)  Copy or print all relevant data  ‘SO’ (source field) is essential !  All periodicals are arranged alphabetically  Recent issues: upper floor  Older, bound volumes: lower floor

31. 2. Books  Copy or print all relevant data  Book code and publication year (‘CD’ and ‘PY’ fields) are essential!  The ITM books are arranged by subject 3. ITM dissertations  Consult the printed lists or the student dissertations database  See series field (‘SE’) for the correct number  To be requested at the library counter (registration!)

32. 4. Grey literature  Search ‘ITG Books and Document Holdings’ database  Check series field (‘SE’) for identification  See message field (‘ME’) at the top of the reference for further guidance 5. Statistics, etc.  Consult the reports in the ‘Reference’ section, located next to the public computers

33. Electronic journals Most journal websites now offer a digital, full-text edition of the printed format, but not all of them! Most journal websites are limited in time coverage (e.g. 1997-present) Different access policies:  Free for all (possibly excepting recent issues)  Free for print-subscribers  Electronic edition at extra cost  Electronic edition only

34. E-journal lists ‘http://lib.itg.be/journals.htm’ (ITM)http://lib.itg.be/journals.htm ‘Alternative’ list of electronic journals (ITM) Various portals: e.g. FreeMedicalJournals.com, HighWire Press Free Online Full-text Articles, FreeFullText.com, …

35. 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. See: ‘http://lib.itg.be/journals.htm’, sections 2 & 3http://lib.itg.be/journals.htm

36. Linking database records and full-text articles Journal level:  Local holdings: link to the E-journals list Article level:  NT field (copy-paste with Ctrl-C)  FTXT field (clickable, but currently limited to international databases only)