Medical Literature & Medical Literature & Information RetrievalInformation Retrieval

Yaming Huang (also Anne Huang)Xiaoning WangYuhong QiuYuhong Zhao School of Information Managent & Information System (Medical)/ the LibraryChina Medical University

Email: huangyaming@mail.cmu.edu.cn huangym@mail.las.ac.cn

Section 1: IntroductionSection 1: IntroductionWhy do we learn this course?What are the core contents of

this course?Agenda, requirements and

examinationIntroduction to medical literature

and information retrieval

Why do we learn this course?Why do we learn this course? To be of information To be of information literacyliteracy

This course is aiming at Medical School Objectives Project (MOSP)

The Medical School Objectives Project (MSOP) is an AAMC ( Association of American Medical Colleges) initiative

MSOP’s goals

Why do we learn this course? Why do we learn this course? To be of information To be of information literacyliteracy

Medical School Objectives Project The Goals and Objectives of Medical Student Education:

Physicians must be altruistic. Physicians must be knowledgeable.

◦ …An understanding of the need to engage in lifelong learning to stay abreast of relevant scientific advances…

Physicians must be skillful.◦ …The ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in

writing, with patients, patients’ families, colleagues, and others with whom physicians must exchange information in carrying out their responsibilities…

Physicians must be dutiful.◦ …The ability to retrieve (from electronic databases

and other resources), manage, and utilize biomedical information for solving problems and making decisions that are relevant to the care of individuals and populations…

Why do we learn this course?Why do we learn this course? To be of information To be of information literacyliteracy

Global Minimum Essential Requirements in Medical Education - Management of Information:

·   search, collect, organize and interpret health and biomedical information from different databases and sources;·   retrieve patient-specific information from a clinical data system;·   use information and communication technology to assist in diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive measures, and for surveillance and monitoring health status;·    understand the application and limitations of information technology;·    maintain records of his/her practice for analysis and improvement.

Why do we learn this course? Why do we learn this course? Target professional valuable information Target professional valuable information and use itand use it

Information is exploding upon us◦ There is an Information explosion upon us.

Large amounts of information resources are surrounding us. As a medical student, information literacy is necessary.

Focusing on academic, authoritative, reliable biomedical professional information is of paramount importance.◦ They can help you to learn the world-wide

leading knowledge. ◦ This course will help you to focus on them.

Core contents of this Core contents of this coursecourse

How to retrieve literature databases? ◦Searching PubMed: for medical articles◦Searching Cochrane Library: for clinical

evidence, practice guideline …How to use other information

resources on the Internet ◦general search engines◦medical search engines◦healthcare organizations & institutions◦famous medical journals…

Agenda of this courseAgenda of this course Oct 27 8:00

◦ Section 1: Introduction and the structure of literature database (PubMed)

Oct. 29 10:10; Nov. 3 8:00; Nov. 5 10:10◦ Section 2: Searching literature database-PubMed, etc.

Nov. 10 8:00; Nov. 12 10:10◦ Section 3: Searching evidence-Cochrane Library, etc. Nov.17 8:00; Nov.19 10:10◦ Section 4: General and medical search engines

Nov.24 8:00; Nov.26 10:10◦ Section 5: Other Information Resources on the Internet

Note that the above “red” lectures are for exercises on online computers in the electrical reading room on the 5th floor of the library. And the other lectures will be performed in the 94th classroom.

Requirements of this Requirements of this coursecourseSure to be present at the classDo your exercises and homework

as well , record your answers to the questions in a word file and email the file to me (huangym@mail.las.ac.cn or huangyaming@mail.cmu.edu.cn) before Nov. 30.

Learning results Learning results evaluationevaluation

It contains two parts: ◦terminal examination ( accounting

for 70%?)◦ + ◦Exercises ( accounting for 30%?)

Introduction to Medical Introduction to Medical Literature and Information Literature and Information RetrievalRetrieval

Literature classification, especially based on originality

Steps to finding information

Literature classificationLiterature classificationThere are many classification

basing on a variety of criteria.Depending on originality, they

can be categorized as ◦Primary documents◦secondary documents◦tertiary documents

Primary documents are usually the first formal appearance of results in the print or electronic literature.

Some examples of primary documents: scientific journal articles reporting experimental research

results proceedings of Meetings, Conferences and Symposia. technical reports dissertations or theses patents letters and correspondence original documents

Secondary sources works which repackage, reorganize, reinterpret, summarize, index or otherwise "add value" to the new information reported in the primary literature.

Some examples of second sources:

Indexing and abstracting tools used to locate primary sources.

The majority of literature databases belong to secondary sources, e.g. ,

PubMed

Chemical Abstract

Biological Abstract

Embase

Science Citation Index

Keyterm Context Terms Ref. No.

Human (Hominidae)

Cardiovascular Medicine/aged/male/…………..5677 R

AIDS

Behavior/Epidemiology/immune system disease.13132

Subject Index of Biological Abstracts

Tertiary sources are materials in which the information from secondary sources has been "digested" - reformatted and condensed, to put it into a convenient, easy-to-read form.

Some examples of tertiary sources: reviews or editorials dictionaries and encyclopedias guidebooks, manuals textbooks

Steps to finding information/documentSteps to finding information/document

5 Essential Steps:

1. Deciding what you are looking for2. Deciding where to look for information3. Knowing how to look for the information

you need4. Evaluating the information you find5. Acknowledging and listing your sources

Steps to finding Steps to finding information/documentinformation/document1.1. Deciding what you are looking Deciding what you are looking forfor

what are the key concepts in your topic? List them. Are they words or terms? Or else, authors? universities or institutes? journals?...

do you understand all the terms involved? If not, consult an encyclopedia or dictionary

what would be the best search terms to use? List them, but be willing to add and subtract from your list.

Steps to finding Steps to finding information/documentinformation/document2. Where to look for the information 2. Where to look for the information you desire?you desire?

online databases Pubmed

Embase BIOSIS (Biological Abstract) Web of Science (Science Citation Index) SciFinder (Chemical Abstracts)

Web sites – via google or hub sites directories

professional organizations online medical journals medical portals……

Steps to finding Steps to finding information/documentinformation/document3.Knowing how to look for the 3.Knowing how to look for the information you needinformation you need

If the key concepts you list are terms/words, ◦Summarize your topic in one or two

sentences◦Identify the unique idea or concepts

associated with your topic◦Choose appropriate keywords for each

concept◦Establish the relationship between each

keyword or concept

Steps to finding information/documentSteps to finding information/document3.Knowing how to look for the information you need3.Knowing how to look for the information you need

In medical literature databases, especially in PubMed, we can use Subject searching or keyword searching

A "Keyword" searching will search titles, subjects, abstracts, etc.

Most search engines use keywords which you select to relate to the concept and you expect to find mentioned in the article of interest.

Steps to finding information/documentSteps to finding information/document3.Knowing how to look for the information you need3.Knowing how to look for the information you need

A "Subject" search searches only assigned subject headings.

Concepts can often be described in different ways and with different terms. Many indexes and databases use a standardized list of subject terms to describe topics (called a controlled vocabulary).

For example, if you know a database uses the term "aged" as a standardized subject heading, you can do one search for the subject "aged" and know that you have also retrieved articles on "senior citizens" and "elderly." Some databases will offer a thesaurus to direct you to their chosen subject headings.

For detail, please refer to Section 2: PubMed.

Steps to finding information/documentSteps to finding information/document4. Evaluating the information you find4. Evaluating the information you findRetrieval performance evaluationRetrieval performance evaluation

Have you got all you desired?Have you found exactly what you

desired?If not, redesign your search

strategy and try further more.

Steps to finding Steps to finding information/documentinformation/document5. Acknowledging and Listing 5. Acknowledging and Listing SourcesSources

Proves your work has a substantial, factual basis

Shows the research you’ve done to reach your conclusions

Allows your reader to identify & find the references including images, tables, figures.

Acknowledges the authors whose work you used

—Section 1: Introduction