Health Services Management Centre School of Social Policy
“Once you have experienced the library you won't want to be without it” Chris Ham, Professor of Health Policy, HSMC & Chief Executive of the King’s Fund
Access a Goldmine of Information HSMC Library & Information Services Park House 40 Edgbaston Park Road Edgbaston Birmingham, B15 2RT
The Ovid Databases
Tel 0121 414 3672/7060
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The Library Staff Rachel Posaner (Manager) Ann Evans (Librarian) Lucy Kelly (Library Assistant)
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www.hsmc.bham.ac.uk/library
Library Training Materials: If you require this information in an alternative format (i.e. large print), please contact the Library staff who will make the necessary arrangements
Ovid Databases (CAB Abstracts, Econlit, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO) If you need information for an essay, project or research in the medical or life sciences, dentistry or psychology, then these Ovid databases will help you find references to journal articles on your subject.
search on earlier sections if necessary. For more information on the coverage click on the “i” information icon next to each database.
Getting On Screen Help
Key Features • • • • •
Clicking on the Help icons on the Main Search Page gives detailed information about using your database effectively. Look out for information icons which give more details about options. Useful hints also appear at the bottom of many pages. Any subject terms which appear in blue and are underlined can be clicked on for more information.
Powerful search tools using subject headings and/or text words Variety of limit options to make your results more relevant Print, save or email results Save/re-run searches and autoalerting to keep up-to-date with new research Results easily imported into reference management software packages such as EndNote, Reference Manager or RefWorks.
Subject Searching The system defaults to Advanced Ovid Search.
Accessing the Ovid Databases
To carry out a subject search click in the search box and enter a single term or short phrase. Leave the tick in the Map Term to Subject Heading box and click on Search.
The eLibrary http://www.elibrary.bham.ac.uk/ provides access to all of our databases and electronic journals. At the login screen of the eLibrary type in your Active Directory/Portal username and password. Once in the eLibrary select Find Resource, choose Resource Name, type in the name of the database you wish to use, and Click Go. Click on the title of the resource from the list.
Mapping display A list of subject headings will be displayed. Select the one most appropriate to your search. Then click on Continue. For more detail about Explode and Focus see the Hints section at the bottom of the screen.
If you do not know your username and password, please go to one of the Computing Helpdesks in the Main Library or Learning Centre. Alternatively, log a call at www.ehelpdesk.bham.ac.uk.
Tip: if none of the mapped subject headings are appropriate or precise enough you can select your original search term which appears at the bottom of the list. The database will then look for that term in article titles, abstracts or subject headings.
When you reach the Ovid Select a database to begin searching screen click on the name of the database to begin your search.
Subheading display You may be prompted to specify subheadings.
Tip: normally it is best to select the most recent section first and then re-run your
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To keep your search comprehensive select the Include All Subheadings box and then click on Continue. To make your search more specific, select the box for each desired subheading and then click on Continue. The database will then search for all the records which contain your chosen subject term(s) and create a set of references which will appear in the Search History box. The set will be given a number and will show how many references have been retrieved in the Results column.
references which contain one or more of your search terms. Then click on Continue. The results will be displayed in the Search History box.
Limiting Searches Below the Search box is the facility to limit the results of a search by year of publication, language, age groups, sex, animal species, etc. The most frequent limiters (eg English Language) are shown in the first boxes; more specific limiters, such as age groups, by clicking on ‘Additional Limits’. The Information icons give definitions.
Author Searching First, select the Author radio button and in the search box enter the surname, a space then first initial, then click on Search. A list of authors will be displayed. Select the relevant one(s) and then click on Search for Selected Terms. The results will be displayed in the Search History box.
Select the results in the Search History box that you wish to limit. Click on those limits you want to apply and then on Search. The results will be displayed in the Search History box.
Further Searching Techniques Using Search fields Search fields can be useful in further refining your search. For example, to restrict a search on “lung neoplasms” to papers from Liverpool click on the Search Fields tab. This displays a list of all the search fields available together with a search term box. Type Liverpool in the box, scroll down to tick the box next to Institution and then click on Search. The results will be displayed in the Search History box. Then combine with another results set using AND.
Tip: you may need to select more than one name as authors are often inconsistent in their use of middle initials.
Title Searching First, select the Title radio button, then in the search box enter any word(s) or phrase(s) you hope to find in the titles of papers then click on Search. The results will be displayed in the Search History box. Note: This is not an effective way of doing a subject search.
Proximity searching The format n adjX n retrieves phrases in which the n words are within X words of each other in either direction. So, for example, directly observed adj4 (therapy or treatment) will retrieve directly observed short course therapy, directly observed treatment, etc. Make sure you have deselected the ‘Map Term to Subject Heading’ box.
Journal Searching Select the Journal radio button and in the search box enter the first few words of the journal name you are looking for. Click on Search. In the Journals Index Display select the appropriate title(s) and Search for Selected Terms. Results will be displayed in the Search History box.
Truncation To enhance your subject searches, use the dollar sign ($) or asterisk (*) to truncate words. For example, disease$ , or disease* will retrieve diseases, diseased etc.
Combining Search Results Within the Search History box select the results sets you wish to combine then choose AND or OR from ‘combine selections with’. AND will narrow your search result, giving you the overlap between two or more searches. OR will broaden the result by retrieving all
Deleting search statements This is useful if you want to tidy up a search history, especially if you want to
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save it for future use. In Search History, select the results sets you wish to delete, then click on Remove Selected.
search strategy. Then proceed with one of the options in the Actions box. Display This allows you to view your results, complete with clickable links.
Changing Years, or to Another Database Click on the Change database link at the top left of the screen. Then click on the next range of years or database you wish to search and click on the ‘Open selected resources’ button. If you wish to repeat the search on the new selection click on the Open and Re-Execute button, otherwise, choose Open and Clear. Note: The subject headings in MEDLINE, PsycInfo and EMBASE vary so check that your search has worked properly.
Print Preview Click on Print Preview and your selected references will be displayed on screen. Then, to print, click on the Web browser Print button. Email Click on Email and then enter your full email address in the first box. Specify whether you want to include the search strategy by ticking the box and click on Send Email.
Displaying Results To view the search results, click on the appropriate Display link. The Results Manager plus the first ten references will be displayed in an abbreviated format, giving the author, title, and full journal reference. Use the ‘Results Per Page’ drop-down menu to see more results per page. More details can be viewed by clicking on Abstract or Complete Reference.
Save To download your results, click on Save in the Actions column. Choose the style according to the type of computer you are using, normally the Windows option, and click on Continue. In the Save as... window click on Save, change the drive and insert a USB. Importing into Reference software If Reference Manager or EndNote is loaded on to the computer you are using you can select the Direct Export button in the Result Format column then Save in the Actions column.
The journals listed in your results are not necessarily held in the University’s print or will electronic collections. allow you to check to see if full text of the article is available. You may need to check the ‘Holdings of Birmingham online catalogue’ for print volumes.
This will launch the reference software and export the records into the file you specify. Note: in order to export records successfully from MEDLINE to EndNote you must first download the import filter MEDLINE (OVID). For information on filters go to: http://www.i-cite.bham.ac.uk/ Alternatively, if you wish to save the references to disk and import them into your reference management software held on another computer, you need to select Reprint/Medlars in the Result Format column and click on Save in the Actions column. Save your references to disk or USB stick. Then when you are ready to import these references use the appropriate import filter i.e. Ovid Web Filter for Reference Manager and Medline (Ovid) and EMBASE (Ovid) for EndNote.
Collecting and Marking References To select those references you want to retrieve click in the box on the left-hand side before the reference number. After every ten references have been displayed you need to click on Next Page (s) to view more.
Retrieving Results This can be done using Results Manager which appears at the top of the results display. Select your references from the results using the checkboxes, then choose the appropriate options in the Results and Fields boxes. In the Result Format box leave Ovid selected. Check the Include Search History box if you want a record of your
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Save/ Re-run searches and Autoalert To update regularly used searches, you can save your search history. First you need to set up a free personal account. To save a search click on the Save Search History button under the Search History box. You have the option of saving temporarily (i.e. for 24 hours) or permanently or as an AutoAlert. Fill in the search name and comment boxes. AutoAlert will email you with a regular update of new references which match your search as they are added to the database. To run a saved search click on the Saved Searches / Alerts button in the top right of the screen, select your search from the list of saved searches and then click on Run. Alerts: to retrieve the latest updates click in the Since last run box, then on Run.
Logging Off When you have finished your searching click on the Logoff link.
Other Relevant Guides Library Services publishes a wide range of guides: http://www.library.bham.ac.uk/searching/g uides/index.shtml
All Library Services documents are available in other formats, please contact Library Services on 0121 414 5828 or www.library.bham.ac.uk/help/ask.shtml for information D.Med/02 – VW - 21/08/2008
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