Searching Secondary Databases: Basic Steps

Samuel KingLibrary and learning Resources

What is a “secondary database”?

It is a database used to “locate” other resources where you can find required information.

Example: Medline is a database where you can find lists of periodical articles on topics related to healthcare.

REMEMBER: you can only “cite” the actual article and the journal it appears in. You can NOT cite the secondary database. It is only a resource for locating the article.

STEP 1 = ? STEP 2 = ?

STEP 3 = ?STEP 4 = ?

BASIC SEARCH STEPS

STEP 1 = ?

BASIC SEARCH STEPS

SEARCH

BASIC SEARCH STEPS

Subject Searching – Why?Many secondary databases have

“subject headings”. Why search by “subject heading” rather than “text word”?

Subject headings are more effective because they enable you to search a topic without having to remember all possible synonyms an author might have used for that concept.

Ultimately, one should master both “text word” and “subject” searching.

Subject Searching – Why?

Subject Searching - Examples

Subject searching - provide a structured language for you to use when searching for specific topics in the literature.

Examples:

1. MedlineMedical Subject Headings (MeSH)Developed at The National Library of Medicine

2. CINAHL CINAHL subject headings

SEARCH STEP 2 = ?

BASIC SEARCH STEPS

SEARCH COMBINE

BASIC SEARCH STEPS

Boolean Operators

Combine search results using:

AND

OR

When do you use …

AND

AND MEANS “TOGETHER”

A B

AND A AND B

AND

All terms connected with AND must appear in each citation retrieved.

When do you use…

OR

OR Means “Either”

A B

OR A or B

OR

If two or more terms are joined by OR, at least one of the terms must appear in each result.

NOTE: All the terms do not have to appear.

SEARCH COMBINE

STEP 3 = ?

BASIC SEARCH STEPS

SEARCH COMBINE

LIMIT

BASIC SEARCH STEPS

Limit your combined results…

By language, year of publication, human, age, etc.

Using the database “Limit” command.

SEARCH COMBINE

LIMIT STEP 4 = ?

BASIC SEARCH STEPS

SEARCH COMBINE

LIMITDISPLAY/PRINT RESULTS

BASIC SEARCH STEPS

Display and Print…Select the citations to be displayed.Choose the “citation and abstract”

version to print.Print your selected results (include the

search strategy in OVID).

SEARCH COMBINE

LIMITDISPLAY/PRINT RESULTS

BASIC SEARCH STEPS

Reference QuestionYou have a patient who has asthma and

need literature on the following topics:

1. The use of antibiotics to treat asthma

2. The use of steroids to treat asthma

The following presentations demonstrate this search using the Medline and CINAHL databases.