Evans Whitaker, MD, MLISNorris Medical LibraryUniversity of Southern CaliforniaLos Angeles, CA 90089-9130(323) 442-1128 ewhitake@usc.edu

Please feel free to contact me (or any of the librarians at Norris Medical Library) with any information questions you have!

Contact information Business Cards Norris Website (http://www.usc.edu/nml

)▪ Library information

▪ Staff Directory

1. Norris Medical Library – Access and Overview of Resources (5 minutes)

1. MEDLINE (30 minutes)2. Miscellany and Questions (the

remainder)

Proxy server (don’t use VPN) (http://libproxy.usc.edu/login )

Log in with USC email information User name (email address up to @) Password

Bookmark Norris Library homepage Start information hunting here as you will

have full text access to everything USC purchases

“Everything” you need in one place If there are other things you want in

this location … let me know

If you can’t get to something you want … Let us know and we will fix it for you (We have one person at the library

devoted to fixing links to publisher’s websites)

• Multiple versions of this database

• Same content but different look

• Ovid = PubMed • (= PubGet)

PubMed (search engine) is the tool used to search in PubMed and MEDLINE

MEDLINE (database)> 17.8 Million

Articles are added to PubMed by publishers

MEDLINE and PubMed

PubMed (database)> 19.5million

…then moved to MEDLINE as they are indexed (have MeSH terms added) by NLM

Clarifying confusing nomenclature

What is MeSH?

Most important single concept of today!!

A “dictionary” in which you look up the best words to use in MEDLINE searches

Using MeSH in searches increases the number of relevant articles found by 40-60%

Limitations: New concepts, procedures, drugs may not have

a MeSH term ▪ Use a Keyword (= any search term you choose that is

not a MeSH term) Takes time for new articles to be “indexed” for

MEDLINE ▪ Can miss the newest articles

PubMed can be considered as two databases in one PubMed/MEDLINE – A database of

information about journal articles MeSH – A dictionary of terms to use in

MEDLINEThe most effective searching is

Finding the term in MeSH Search with that term in MEDLINE

Three ways to access MEDLINE at USC: PubMed (USC’s version, PubMed@USC

includes links to USC holdings)▪ Freely available▪ Now teaching Keck students this version of

MEDLINE OvidSP (includes links to USC holdings)

▪ USC pays Ovid for access▪ Residents and students may not have access after

USC PubGet.com (see Clinician Portal for

information)

Allows you to save you work and get back to it! Save your searches

▪ PubMed send you new articles about the topic as they come out

Save good articles in Collections

Let’s do it

Does selenium supplementation prevent prostate cancer?

Concepts: Prostate Cancer Selenium Supplements

We want articles with both concepts Would you combine the concepts with

AND or OR? AND

See one … watch a search in PubMed

Things you can do now: Look at full-text copy of articles

▪ Print ▪ Save ▪ Email

Add to Clipboard Save to Collections Save your search

▪ Have new articles about your topic sent to you

Prevention of DVT in total knee replacement?

Is oxygen inhalation therapy or triptans more effective in treating acute cluster headache?

In juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, would you best treat with valproate or would you choose another anticonvulsant medication?

Is Guillain-Barre syndrome best treated with plasma exchange or intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy?

Are steroids useful as part of treatment of septic shock

Are steroids useful as part of treatment of bacterial meningitis?

Do SSRIs increase risk of GI bleeding?

Too many results

Too few results

MeSH terms

Add another MeSH term

Remove a MeSH term

Subheadings

Add subheadings Remove subheadings

Major Mesh to Majr Majr to MeSH

Limits Add limits Remove limits

Use MeSH if available3 or fewer MeSH terms are (usually)

enoughFocus the disease or conditionSubheadings

3 or fewer subheadings per MeSH Don’t use unless they match perfectly

Explode Leave MeSH terms exploded

Electronic table of contents (e.g., JAMA) PubGet.com

Saved work in MEDLINE: MyNCBI and/or Ovid Personal Account

UpToDate - ”What’s New”Faculty of 1000 – Medicine Journal Watch

Norris homepage

If you strike out in MEDLINE…Searches full text of article

Very sensitive – finds the needle Not specific – gives you the haystack too

GoogleScholar – set Advanced Preferences for USC full text

Please feel free to contact me (or any of the librarians at Norris Library) with any information questions you have!

Norris Website (http://www.usc.edu/nml)