Basic searching on Ovid databases on the NHS Scotland eLibrary elib.scot.nhs.uk

1. Basic searching on Ovid databases on the NHS Scotland eLibrary www.elib.scot.nhs.uk Maria Henderson Library NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde Partnerships September 2006

2. NHS Scotland eLibrary • Available on any PC with an internet connection • Databases can be accessed with your NHS Athens password • This demonstration uses the Medline database. Other databases available via Ovid have the same layout and similar commands.

4. Login here with your Athens password for seamless access to resources and any favourite links.

5. Click on “Databases – full list” to select from the list of databases available

6. To access Medline and other databases from Ovid, click on “Ovid collection”

7. Scroll down the list of Ovid databases and click on “Medline”. Remember to choose a year range to suit you (eg. 1996-2006)

8. Type search term in here Searches can be limited, eg. by year of publication

9. Search strategy • This example shows a search for information on special education for people with mental handicap • It helps to divide your search into sections – in this case, “mental handicap” and “special education”. Do each search separately then combine the results later, as in the following example.

10. Type your first term in the search box and click on “Search”

11. Select the subject heading which matches what you typed in by ticking the box in the left-hand margin. Subject headings will use US spelling and terminology. “Explode” looks for the selected subject heading and all of its more specific terms. “Focus” looks for articles where your subject heading is the main subject covered.

12. For a definition of the term, click on the scope note next to it

13. Click on “Previous page” to return to the previous screen Scope note will give a definition and related terms which you could add to your search

14. Click on the heading to look at the subject tree, which shows broader and more specific subject headings for searching

15. Subject trees show subject headings in a “tree” formation. Scroll down to find “Mental retardation”.

16. Tick here to “explode” the search Narrower headings, which would be included in your search if you tick “explode”. Your subject heading (highlighted)

17. Scroll back to the top of the page and click on “Continue”

18. Subheadings allow you to focus on an aspect of your topic, eg. drug therapy or nursing. Use them only if that is exactly what you want. Otherwise ignore and click on “continue”.

19. Results appear in the “Search History” box

20. Type your second search term into the search box and click on “Search”.

21. Again, you can click on the heading to see the related subject headings.

22. Click in the “Explode” box to select your subject and the narrower headings below it. Then click on “Continue”.

23. Subheadings allow you to focus on an aspect of your topic, eg. drug therapy or nursing. Only use them if that is exactly what you want. Otherwise ignore and click on “continue”.

24. Results appear in the Search History box. You now have two separate sets of results which need to be combined.

25. Combine search results by typing in the numbers of the searches eg. “1 and 2”, and clicking on “Search”.

26. Results (articles on mental retardation and special education).

27. You can apply limits – eg. limit the results to those published in 2000 onwards. Use the drop-down menus provided.

28. Limits include “Publication year”, “Humans” (excludes veterinary medicine articles) and “English language” (excludes foreign-language journals). After selecting all your limits, Click on “Search”.

29. Search results with your limits applied.

30. The results display includes the publication details of each article found plus links to abstract, complete reference (abstract and subject headings) and full text if available. Click on “Complete reference” beside the first article.

31. “Complete reference” display. Scroll down for …

32. … subject headings and abstract. Subject headings can give a good idea of the subjects covered in the article. Those with asterisks are the main (“Focus”) subjects of the article.

33. Scroll back to the top of the page and click on “Results display” to return to the search results. Do not use the “Back” key in your browser.

34. As you scroll through your search results, tick the box in the left-hand margin beside any references you want to print out. Then click on “Print preview” in the Results manager box below.

35. Selected search results ready to print. You can use the “Print” command in your browser at the top of the screen.

36. Or you can send results in an email. Tick the references you want and then click on “Email”

37. Type the email address in the “To” box and click on “Send email”. Make sure the address is correct or the email will be lost.

38. You can look at the full text of any articles with a “full text” link in the right-hand margin. Click on “Ovid full text”.

39. Full text. Print options will be available. Select PDF if available – this is a scanned copy of the article which is best for printing.

40. PDF copy of article. Use the PDF print icon to print.

41. You can run the search in a new database. Click on “Change database”

42. Click on the name of the database you want to search in next. Select CINAHL.

43. Select “Open and re-execute” to run your search in the new database. This will save you typing the search terms a second time.

44. The same search is run in the new database. Sometimes this doesn’t work because different databases use different subject headings – if this happens, just type in the search term again and re-combine your search terms.

45. Further information: • If there are articles or books which can’t be downloaded from the eLibrary, you can request them from the Maria Henderson Library document request service • You can arrange training sessions with library staff on doing literature searches • We can also offer advice by phone or email – just call us if you get stuck with a search!

46. Maria Henderson Library • Gartnavel Royal Hospital, Glasgow G12 0XH • Tel: (0141) 211 3913 • email: library@glacomen.scot.nhs.uk