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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