Nursing Standard (C) Copyright 2002 RCN Publishing Company Ltd. ---------------------------------------------- Volume 16(32) 24 April 2002 p 104 ---------------------------------------------- Detective work [Careers: Jobs Focus] Orton, Vickie Vickie Orton is Library Projects Co-ordinator, RCN Library and Information Service ---------------------------------------------- Outline Abstract 1. Define your search 2. Library and information services 3. Information sources 4. Searching 5. Obtain material 6. Using the information Graphics Figure. No caption a... ---------------------------------------------- Abstract The more systematic your approach to literature searches, the more time and trouble you will save yourself. Vickie Orton offers a step-by-step guide ---------------------------------------------- FIGURE A LITERATURE SEARCH is often the first step in investigating a question about an aspect of practice, whether as part of your studies or for general interest. You could think of yourself as a detective, tracking down vital clues to find a solution. If you follow the steps below, you should find a search of the literature straightforward. But don't forget that if you get stuck, your local librarian can help. Literature searching can be broken down into the following six easy steps: ---------------------------------------------- Figure. No caption available. ---------------------------------------------- 1. Define your search Start with a large, blank piece of paper and write down your topic. Then write down all areas of related study, identifying relevant synonyms and keywords or MeSH (medical subject headings). When considering keywords, think about the information you want to retrieve, the phrases that indexers might have used and consider different terms and spellings. 2. Library and information services Having defined your search, you now need some resources. If you are lucky, you will have access to a local health or college library. If you are an RCN member, you will have access to at least one of the RCN libraries, all of which offer a postal service. Remember that public libraries can also obtain specialist books and journal articles for a small charge through the national interlibrary loan scheme. In addition to libraries, the RCN has a growing number of resource centres providing free access to the internet, a range of journals and other facilities. The internet is also a valuable source of information, but if you are looking for quality-assured material, use a web gateway such as NMAP (http://nmap.ac.uk ). Other quality web databases include the US National Library of Medicine database Medline (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed ). 3. Information sources There are two different types of information resource: [black small square] Primary sources, including annual reports, statistics, yearbooks, journals and books. [black small square] Secondary sources, including guides to literature and research, indexes, abstracts and bibliographies. There are many different indexes available, increasingly in electronic format. The most common ones for nurses include BNI Plus (British Nursing Index), CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health), Medline and the Cochrane Library. 4. Searching When searching, it is important to understand how to use your resources. Electronic indexes such as BNI Plus allow you to define your search by limiting results to a year and to combine terms such as 'and' using Boolean operators. Truncation (the use of a symbol, usually an asterix, placed at the end of a word, for example, 'child*') will retrieve 'child', 'children', 'childhood' and 'children's'. Wild cards using the question mark symbol can help define your search. For example, 'wom?n' will retrieve 'woman' and 'women'; 'p?ediatric' will retrieve 'paediatric' and 'pediatric'. Be systematic when searching. Keep a record of your search strategy and make notes of the records retrieved. This will help you if you need to redefine your search later or retrace an article to reference. Discuss your search strategy with colleagues and ask librarians. Be prepared to modify your search on the basis of your findings. 5. Obtain material If the book or journal article you require is not on the shelf, the library should be able to get it for you. Once you have the material, read and evaluate it to ensure it is from a reliable source. 6. Using the information Have an overall plan of what you want to write or convey, then work out where the information you have will fit in. Check that the information supports your arguments. If not, change your argument or search again. Avoid plagiarism by using quotations where relevant and indicating the source. Alternatively, use your own words, but acknowledge the source of the ideas Nursing Standard classified - Tel: 020 8423 1333 Fax: 020 8872 3197 Nursing Standard House, 17-19 Peterborough Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 2AX, AD-DOC DX 4228 Harrow ---------------------------------------------- Accession Number: 00002311-200204240-00062 ----------------------------------------------