Database searchingskills & strategies

• Medicinal plants

OutcomesAt the end of the workshop, you should be able to:

• search more efficiently

• get better results

• know where to look

• be less anxious about your research

“Finding information is hard….”

•What information am I looking for?

•Where will I find the information

•How will I get there?

•How good is the information?

•How will I ethically use the information

What type of information do I need, & where do I find it?

• Definition

• Basic overview

• Statistics etc.

Information type

• Book

• Govt. publications

• Wiki

• youtube

General source

• Google

• Library catalogue

How to find it

When do I need to use a database?

Bibliographic database

(aka “Literature database”)

indexed articles, subject specific

e.g.: Pubmed, Ebsco, Proquest

• Recent information

• Research

• Scholarly articles

Information type

• Academic literature

• Journal articles

• Theses, reports etc

General source

• Databases

• Google Scholar

How to find it

Ebsco

GaleProquest

Pubmed

•Most comprehensive in content

•Only Open Source full text

•Paid content = more full text available

•Not as broad coverage of journal articles

•FREE

•THINK Education subscription

Steps in finding information

1. Define your topic

2. Determine your search strategy

3. Find your citations

4. Get the full text article

how?!

Yes, but ……

Database

Full Text?

• Yes - YAY!

• No (see below)

Available at SSNT?

• Check library catalogue

• Ejournal? Print journal? Other database

• Check Google Scholar

Submit article

request

• Make sure you really need it

• Usually free, but occasionally not

• Can take up to 2 weeks so allow time

Steps in finding full text article

Search strategy

1. Define the keywords you can use

2. Start broad, progressively narrow down

3. Use search building techniques - synonyms, limiters

4. Note ‘clues’ in your results -jargon, exclusion terms etc.

5. Understand what your results mean

6. Repeat your search – be persistent, think laterally

Define keywords

• Topic analysis

• Keywords

• Synonyms, jargon, Latin form

• Context

Search building

• Phrase searching

• AND, OR, NOT

• Similar and Citing articles

UseLimiters

• Time frame (recent? historical? trending?)

• Type of literature (review article, clinical trials, news?)

• Gender , age, population , language

after….

before….

during….

So, in summary:

Review search results – again!

Search is an exercise in persistance!

If you don’t feel you’re getting results

Change databases

Change keywords

Change tactics

ASK YOUR LIBRARIAN FOR HELP – we’re experts!

Example search strategy

Putting the theory to work.

“Analyse a case study on the use of black cohoshin menopause treatment”

• Cimicifuga racemosa

• bugwort

• Phytomedicine

• medicinal plants

• menopause

• Globally?

• Australia?

• Current? Historical? Trends?

• “case study”

• “black cohosh”

• “Cimicifuga racemosa”

• ”Medicinal plants”

Phrases Context

Synonyms

Boolean Truncation Phrase searching

• AND• NOT• OR

Using these in your search can force exclusions or inclusions

e.g: tablet NOT computer

Pathol*

Searches for:• Pathology• Pathologist• Pathological

Compare this googlesearch:

arm pressure points= 22,600,000 results

“arm pressure points”= 15,100 results

Simply phrasing your search can focus your results enormously.

Some search techniques

Use Advanced Search

Almost all databases and search engines have

advanced search options

Provides many more fields to

help you refine your search

Use limitseffectively

Use the limits

provided, when

you can

Use limitseffectively

Reading your results

1. Suggested subjects

2. Type of document

3. Abstract or Full text

4. Abstract text

5. Refining options

Reading your results

Making use of the functions

available, helps you keep

organised while researching.