Diane E. Beck, Pharm.D.Director of Educational & Faculty Development and
ProfessorCollege of Pharmacy University of Florida
Unit B Module 2.1
Finding Educational Literature Related to the Health Professions
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IntroductionLiterature relevant to educational issue you are exploring may be found in a variety of sources:•within your own discipline•in other health professions•in the field of education•in other disciplines
Valuable information may be found in Encyclopedias, Books, Journals, Grey Literature, and the Web.
Therefore, searches must sometimes be broader than using just Pubmed and the Web
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SESSION GOALS
How to get ready for a search……..
How to locate educational literature using effective search
strategies……..
LEARN:
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HOW TO GET READY FOR A SEARCH:Construct Your Search Query
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Construct Your Search Query• The following iterative
process is used to construct a search query:1. Define the search query by
writing a purpose statement, research question or hypothesis
2. Identify and expand essential concepts
3. Establish the scope of your query (inclusion and exclusion criteria)
Reference:Haig & Dozier. Medical Teacher 2003;5:463-84.5
Construct Your Search Query
Let’s Look at Each Step of this Process…..
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Construct Your Search Query
Reference:Haig & Dozier. Medical Teacher 2003;5:463-84.
How to Define the Search Query by Refining Your Research Question
Use your purpose statement/intent to write a research question with the following components:1.Participants (eg, Students)2.Intervention (eg, educational strategy)3.Comparison or alternate intervention (if relevant)4.Outcome 7
Construct Your Search Query
Identify words or phrases that are similar to words in each of the 4 components of your search statement:1.Synonyms2.Alternate spellings3.Related terms
Reference:Haig & Dozier. Medical Teacher 2003;5:463-84.
How to Identify and Expand Concepts
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Construct Your Search QueryHow to Identify and Expand Concepts
1. Use “Subject Headings” A. These are a set of terms that the company who
developed the database assigned.B. Examples are:
i. MeSH (Medical Subject Headings by PubMed)ii. Thesaurus (used by ERIC)
2. Use “Keywords”A. These are words used by authors and you.
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Construct Your Search Query
Identify inclusion or exclusion criteria:1.Example: Limit the type of student/learner
Note:1.Often, the first search will be performed without using exclusion criteria. The criteria can be added if the number of “hits” are large or too small.
Reference:Haig & Dozier. Medical Teacher 2003;5:463-84.
Establish the Scope of your Query
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Your Purpose Statement/Research Question should contain the following components:1.Participants:
2.Intervention:
3.Comparison or alternate intervention:
3.Outcome:
How to Define the Search Query
Example: Are asynchronous lectures as effective as traditional (live) clinical instruction in achieving effective learning with students?
Students
Asynchronous lectures
Traditional clinical instruction
Effective Learning11
How to Identify and Expand Concepts
Example: Are asynchronous lectures as effective as traditional (live) clinical instruction in achieving effective learning with students?
Students Asynchronous Lectures Lectures Effective learning
Learners
Students, medical
Videostreaming
Podcasting
Teaching Methods
Clinical teaching
Learner Outcomes
Students Asynchronous Lectures
Clinical instruction
Effective Learning
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Construct Your Search Query
Identify inclusion or exclusion criteria:1.Example: Limit the type of student/learner
Note:1.Often, the first search will be performed without using exclusion criteria. The criteria can be added if the number of “hits” are large.
Reference:Haig & Dozier. Medical Teacher 2003;5:463-84.
Establish the Scope of your Query
Example: Are asynchronous lectures as effective as clinical instruction in achieving effective learning with students?
Will perform search using “students” and reevaluate need for inclusion/exclusion criteria (eg, 3rd year vs 4th year vs both).
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Summary: Construct Your Search Query
• In summary - The following iterative process is used to construct a search query:1. Define the search query
by writing a question or hypothesis
2. Identify and expand essential concepts
3. Establish the scope of your query (inclusion and exclusion criteria)
Reference:Haig & Dozier. Medical Teacher 2003;5:463-84.14
SEARCH STRATEGIES FOR LOCATING LITERATURE:The Web & PubMed are the Tip of the Iceberg
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First Appearance of Information
Information >10 Years Old
High Quality Stds
Low Quality Stds
Literature Pyramid
Reference: Creswell, Educational Research, 3rd Ed. ,2008 16
References: The Foundation
1.International Handbook on Research in Medical Education, (Norman and Van der Vleuten, Editors), 2002.2.Teaching and Learning in Medical and Surgical Education, (Distlehorst and Dunnington, Editors), 2000.3.International Encyclopedia of Education, (Husen, Editor), Elsevier, 1994.4.Encyclopedia of Educational Research, (Alkin, Editor), 1992.5.Higher Education in the United States: An Encyclopedia, (Forest and Kinser), 2002.6.Encyclopedia of Educational Technology, http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/7.Encyclopedia of Distance Learning, (Boettcher, et al, Editors), 2005.8.Handbook of Distance Education, Moore, Editor), 2003.
References That May Be Relevant to Your Searches
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Books
Search the UF Library Catalog
This Catalog May Be Accessed From Either the HSC Libraries Website or the
Smathers Library Website
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From the HSC Libraries Website, Select “Catalog”
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From the Smathers Library Website, Select “Books” & “The UF Libraries
Catalog”
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Journal ArticlesHow to Find Journal Articles
1. Database Searcha. Search multiple databases (see next slide)
2. Ancestry Searcha. Search the bibliographies/reference list of
relevant papers to identify references missed by other methods.
3. Hand Searcha. Search either print or electronic journals by
personally examining volume by volume, issues by issue, article by article. (a standard for systemic reviews)
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Three Ways to Find Articles:
Journal ArticlesDatabases Useful for Medical Education
Projects1. PubMed – appropriate if your project involves an educational
intervention “only” used in medical education.2. Timelit (www.timelit.org) – applicable to medical education.3. EBSCOhost - allows you to expand to other health professions. This is
useful if the intervention is also used in other health professions. 1. To Use this database: (Select Academic Search Premier, CINAHL, Pre-
CINAHL, Health Source, Professional Development Collection, and Psych Info)
4. ERIC – useful if the intervention is used across many areas of education (eg, small group learning).a. To Use:
1. Via Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (includes links to fulltext)2. Via FirstSearch (includes links to fulltext)3. Free website: http://www.eric.ed.gov/ (no fulltext links)
5. Education Full-text (Wilson Web) – also good for broad education searches. 22
Grey Literature
Examples1.Academic papers2.Committee reports3.Conference papers4.Dissertations5.Government Reports6.Newsletters7.Research Reports8.Technical Reports
DefinitionLiterature that is not controlled by commercial publishers. It is produced by organizations (ACGME), government, academics, business, and industry in both print and electronic formats.
This can be a source of information not yet in Journals!!
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Grey LiteratureSources1.Web2.ERIC (via Cambridge Scientific Abstracts) – Includes grey literature3.The Grey Literature Report (Published bimonthly by the New York Academy of Medicine)
a. Includes AAMC documentsb. http://www.nyam.org/library/pages/grey_literature_report
4.Dissertation Abstracts (available via UF library databases)5.Library of Congress
a. catalog.loc.gov6.National Library of Medicine
a. www.locatorplus.gov 24
Early Stage MaterialsDefinitionInformation that is not yet in Grey literature, Journals, Books, and Encyclopedias
Sources1.Web – (will also locate grey literature and other stages of materials)
a. Google Scholar (can link into UF libraries if you are logged in via the UF network)
2.Manual Searching of Professional Associations Relevant to the Topic
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Literature Searches are an Iterative Process
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• Therefore, after you read some of the initial articles you retrieve……………
• You may find you need to revise your search terms and do the search again.
• It may take multiple iterations of literature retrieval to develop a conceptual framework for your project.
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Literature Searches are an Iterative Process
GOOD LUCK!
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