SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION STRATEGIES FOR RETRIEVAL HSMP 2011-12.

SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION

STRATEGIES FOR RETRIEVAL

HSMP 2011-12

Why?

Effective searching for pertinent information

All essential, key informationWithout irrelevant side-tracks

What?

General information, broad subjectsBooks, review articles

Specific information, recent developmentsArticles

StatisticsWebsites - reports

Resources for the selection

• Internet search engines

• Websites of international organizations

• Bibliographic databases

Relevance - Thoroughness – Invisible - Deep web – Integrity - Reliability - Up-to-dateness - Repeatability

Search engines

Google http://www.google.com/

Bing http://www.bing.com/

Yahoo http://www.yahoo.com/

Google Scholar

• Combines search engine characteristics with database features

• Searches scientific literature instead of websites

• Relevance ranking, citation analysis• Offers links to the full text (provided you have

access rights)http://scholar.google.com/

International organizations and agencies

WHO http://www.who.int/en/UNDP http://www.undp.org/World Bank http://www.worldbank.org/UNAIDS http://www.unaids.org/en/CDC http://www.cdc.gov/CIA – World Factbook https://www.cia.gov/

Integrity, Stability, Currency, Full Text

Bibliographic databases

• Cover clearly defined subject areas

• Structured bibliographic descriptions containing a number of searchable fields (author, title, journal,…)

• Search tools comprise thesaurus (hierarchically arranged list of keywords) and alphabetical index(es)

Search strategies: Where to start?

1. Select an appropriate database

Criteria:- scope: time frame and subjects covered- full text accessibility (print, PDF…)- document types included


• ITM catalogues and databases

– ITG Book and Document Holdings– ITG Student Dissertations– ITG Staff Publications– Tropical Endemic Diseases Control– Health Care in Developing Countries

See: ‘http://lib.itg.be/datab.htm’


• ITM catalogues and databases

– Produced by ITM library staff– Relatively small; i.e. 5,000-20,000 records – Limited to relevant topics and collections– Focus on developing countries’ issues– All document types are included (books, articles, grey

literature…) – Full text is available in the ITM library + link to electronic

full text (DOI)– Free keywords, no thesaurus


• Medline/Pubmed

– Major database in biomedical and allied life sciences– 1950 to the present– Articles only– Anglosaxon bias– Local or Third World journals underrepresented– No relationship whatsoever with ITM collection

Pubmed Tutorials! Next week: How to search Pubmed


• Other databases

– Global Health (CABI) subscription-based– Popline free– Lilacs [Latin America!] free

See: ‘http://lib.itg.be/datab.htm’

Search strategies: Type of information

2. Choose the right search strategy

Reference or location of specific document(s) strategy A

orMore or less extensive

literature survey on a topic strategy B

Search strategies: Strategy A

Strategy A: Find (a) specific document(s)

• Determine the most characteristic elements(E.g. author, word in title, periodical, publisher)

• Enter search terms in the appropriate fields(advanced search)

• Use the indexes to verify spelling


• Are the following books in the ITM library? If so, where can you find them?

• Green A. An introduction to health planning in developing countries; 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007: 397 pp.

• Preker AS, Carrin G, editors. Health financing for poor people; resource mobilization and risk sharing. Washington: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank; Geneva: World Health Organization (WHO); Geneva: International Labour Office (ILO), 2004: 446 pp.

Select the appropriate database What specific elements distinguish this reference from most others? Specify the appropriate fields if necessary Look for the location coordinates


• Generate a list of ITM memoirs since 1995 concerning Rwanda

Log in to WebspirsWebspirs (http://lib.itg.be/version.htm) Select the appropriate database Enter Rwanda in the Keywords indexKeywords index Enter 1995 in the Publication Date Publication Date index and select

every year until 2011 – Click « Search marked » Go to Search history Search history and combine search results


• Find the following references

1. an articlearticle on an insurance system insurance system in UgandaUganda to which B. CrielCriel contributed

2. an articlearticle from 20092009 on the impact of decentralization of health care on district level district level health personnel health personnel in IndonesiaIndonesia

3. a bookbook on the history of trypanosomiasistrypanosomiasis in Central Africa published by Cambridge UniversityCambridge University

Search strategies: Strategy B

Strategy B: Literature survey on a topic1. Describe the topic or research area

2. Start with 1 or 2 essential search terms; use the thesaurus and/or keyword index (if available and relevant)

3. Determine the logical relationship between the selected terms and combine those terms or search sets using Boolean operators: AND, OR, NOT

4. Evaluate the results:1. Look for “better” terms if the results are unsatisfactory2. Add extra terms if the result sets are to large3. Try broader terms if they are to small

5. Set limits (language, publication year, publication type, availability) where relevant


Some extra tips

• StartStart with the essentialessential, continue in logical steps• Do not use search terms that are already obvious• Some very specific terms specific terms are better searched in « free textfree text »,

other, broader terms broader terms through the thesaurusthesaurus and/or the indexes

• Think about synonymssynonyms and alternative spellings• WildcardsWildcards (*) can increase useful results• Avoid complex, nested search sets, try combining clear search

sets instead• Watch out when using « NOT », some relevant material may

be excluded along with the superfluous


Find some references on safe motherhood and availability of emergency obstetric

care or competent midwives

Full TextFull Text

• Digital, on the Internet?

• On paper, in the ITM library?

Full Text – Digital Access

E-journals

• Most journal websites now offer a digital, full-text edition of the original printed version (but still not all).

• Most journal websites are limited in time coverage (e.g. last 5-10 years)

• Different access policies:– Free for all (Open Access, free, with or without embargo)– Free for print-subscribers– Electronic edition at extra cost– Electronic edition only (subscription-based or Open Access)


E-journals lists

• ITM http://lib.itg.be/journals.htm– Selected full-text journals– Complete list of over 10,000 full-text journals

• Various portals: e.g. FreeMedicalJournals.com, HighWire Press Free Online Full-text Articles, FreeFullText.com, …


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.

• PLoS - Public Library of Science: ‘author pays’ journals, e.g. PLoS Biology, PLoS Medicine, ...

• TropMed Central Antwerp: digital repository of ITM staff publications (2000-…)


Linking database records and full-text articles

• Journal level: – Check “Full Text Options” in ITG Serials Holding database

• Article level:– Webspirs: Full text link (PDF) in bibliographic record– PubMed: (only via http://lib.itg.be/datab.htm!)

Full Text – Print Version

How to locate documents at the ITM library?

1. Journal articles

– Copy or print all relevant data– Journal and Year are essential !– All periodicals are arranged alphabetically

Recent issues: upper floor Older, bound volumes: lower floor



2. Books

– Copy or print all relevant data– Book Code and Year are essential!– The ITM books are arranged systematically



3. ITM memoirs

– Consult the printed lists or the ITG Student Dissertations Database

– See Collections (e.g. ‘CIPS’) and Volume (call number, ‘M1032’) for the correct identification

– Download or request at the library counter (registration!)



4. Grey literature

– Search ITG Books Catalog– Check Series Title for identification– See holdings information:

• This document can be obtained at the ITG Library counter • This document is in the periodicals section (Issue) • This document is in the reference section (Statistical & country

information) – See: shelves next to the library computers

Selection of useful websites

ITM Library http://lib.itg.be

DatabasesPubMed http://www.pubmed.orgPubMed Central http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.govScielo – Scientific Electronic Library Online http://www.scielo.orgWHO Library Database WHOLIS

http://www.who.int/library/BioMed Central http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/Free Medical Journals http://www.freemedicaljournals.com

Open Access ProjectsHighWire - Free Access to Developing Economies:

http://highwire.stanford.edu/lists/devecon.dtl- Free Online Full-text Articles:

http://highwire.stanford.edu/lists/freeart.dtlHINARI http://www.healthinternetwork.orgINASP – International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications:

http://www.inasp.org.uk

SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION STRATEGIES FOR RETRIEVAL HSMP 2011-12.

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