The document discusses literature searching and effective search strategies. It begins by outlining the purpose of literature searches, which includes broadening knowledge, demonstrating research skills, and allowing for critical assessment. It then details the steps for an effective search strategy, including defining the topic as a question, choosing keywords, selecting appropriate databases, running and evaluating searches, and refining as needed. Finally, it provides examples of different internet search tools and guidelines for evaluating website credibility and currency of information.

1. COLLEGE OF NURSING MADRAS
MEDICAL COLLEGE, CHENNAI -03.
ADVANCE NURSING PRACTICE SEMINAR ON INTERNET AND
LITRETURE SEARCH.
PRESENTED BY P.KALA
M.Sc Nursing 1st year Student
CON, MMCH Chennai-03

2. INTRODUCTION;
Literature, a body of written works. The name has traditionally been applied to
those imaginative works of poetry and prose distinguished by the intentions of their
authors and the perceived aesthetic excellence of their execution.
KNOWLEDGE IS OF TWO KINDS. WE KNOW A SUBJECT OURSELVES, OR
WE KNOW WHERE WE CAN FIND INFORMATION UPON IT.
(Samuel Johnson)

3. PURPOSE OF A LITERATURE SEARCH;
Broadens our knowledge on a topic
Shows our skills in finding relevant information.
Allows for critical assessment of research.
HOW TO START?
There are many ways to begin literature search, generally we have;
• Keywords
• Begin from a paper given by our mentor
• References from a given paper/books
• Journal in our interest of subject areas
• By the names of authors .
• Planning is required.

4. DEVELOPING A SEARCH STRATEGY; PROCESS OVERVIEW
STEPS;
formulate question
define concept and keywords
choose databases
conduct the search
evaluate the results
save, save, save
refine if needed.

5. STEPS FOR EFFECTIVE SEARCH STRATEGY;
Defining your topic.
Turning our topic into a question.
Choosing your search terms.
Keywords for each of the concepts in the question.
Which databases should I search?
Compiling the search and running it in a database.
Evaluate.

6. DEFINE THE TOPIC /THE QUESTION
What am I exactly looking for? Question before you search
Test search to find out how much information is available.
If your are finding little information-broaden the question
If you are finding lot of information-narrow the question.
KEYWORDS FOR THE CONCEPT IN THE QUESTION;
Break the question down into the main concepts.
Use all possible acronyms or synonyms.
Keep in mind that names change
US/UK spelling variations.

7. Databases will search for the term you have typed in, including any spelling
mistakes.
BREAK THE QUESTION DOWN INTO MAIN CONCEPTS
Which are the most effective way to deliver maternity services to rural
population in low-income countries?
MATERNITY SERVICES
Maternal health services(s)
RURAL POPULATION
Rural community (s)
LOW INCOME COUNTRIES
Developing country.

8. KEYWORDS….
Concept KEYWORDS
1. Carpal tunnel Carpal tunnel, carpal tunnel syndrome,
median mononeuropathy, repetitive motion,
RSI, Phalen’s sign, Tinel sign, CTS,
repetitive motion injury.
2. Thrombosis Thrombosis, DVT, Leg thrombosis,
Thrombus, Thrombotic Thromboembolism.

9. KEYWORDS vs SUBJECT SEARCH
SUBJECT-NEOPLASM
KEYWORD-TUMOR
CANCER

10. BOOLEAN OPERATORS;

11. You can run your search as one long search string, using brackets/parenthesis to
separate the concept…..
(“maternity services” OR “maternal health services”) AND (“rural populations” OR
“remote populations”) AND (“developing country” OR “low income country”)
INTERNET SEARCH TOOLS
Which search tools are needed?
Gateways
Search Engines.
Databases.

12. GATEWAY/WEB PORTAL
A webpage designed to attract visitors and search engines to a website on a
specific topic(s).
Organize information in a structured way in general or subject categories.
Examples;
WHO A-Z health topics list
www.who.int/topics/en/
Essential Health Links
www.health.org/essential-links/
/

13. SEARCH ENGINE
A program that searches documents for specifies keywords and returns
a list of documents where the keywords were found.
Examples
Google www.google.com
Google advanced search www.google.com/advanced search
Google Scholar (more academic)
www.scholar.google.com
Yahoo www.yahoo.com

14. WHEN TO USE SEARCH ENGINES
For general information
When topic ha many facets.
For current information
For single article search.
GOOGLE SCHOLAR;
The following database are accessed through institutions (they have to
purchase licenses to have access to these), and contain evidence based
healthcare articles from a variety of health professions.

15. MEDLINE(Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online)
http;//www.ebscohost.com/nursing/products/medline-database
CINAHL(Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature)
http;//www.ebscohost.com/cinahl/
PubMed (Medical Publication-US National Library of Medicine)
http;//www.ncbi.nih.gov/pubmed/
BEYOND DATABASE
References in good articles.
Hand searching journals
Clinical trials (clinicaltrials.gov)
Contact authors to identify additional unpublished work.

16. HOW TO TELL THE GOOD FROM THE BAD
Web site evaluation criteria;
 Who runs the site?
 Who pays for the site?
 What is the purpose of the site?
 Where does the information come from?
 What is the basis of the information?
 How is the information selected?
 How current is the information?
 How does the site choose links to other sites?
What information about you does the site collect, and why?
How does the site manage interactions with visitors?

17. THE CRITERIA
1. Who run the site?
Eg.- MEDLIN plus-httpt;//medlineplus.gov
Header on all MEDLINEplus pages
2.Who pays for the site?
The URL end in .gov which indicates that the site I sponsored by the
government
3. What is the purpose of the site?
MEDLINEplus is designed to help you find appropriate, authoritative health
information.

18. 4. Where does the information come from?
NLM
NIH
ADAM(Encyclopedia)
Merriam-Webster(dictionary)
New (Reuters)
Various health organisations and their websites
5. What is the basis of the information ?
Varies by link
Research links sections tend to have more evidenced based links
eg; of evidence;http;//cis.nci.gov/fact/5 6.htm

19. 6. How is the information selected?
The site mainly use full-text publications produced by the NIH and other
federal government organisations.
External links are also chosen based on criteria listed under “selection
criteria” (ee criteria#8).
7. How current is the information?
MEDLINEplus page list last updated date at bottom.
Most page have been reviewed or updated within the last 2-3 years.
8. How does the site choose links to other sites?
MEDLINEplus-http;//www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/croteroa.html

20. • Their criteria;
• Quality, authority and accuracy of content.
• Purpose of site is education, not selling a product and offers information free of
charge.
• Availability and maintenance of the web page.
• Special features.

21. • 9. What information about you does the site collect, and why?
• E.g.MEDLINEplus-
• http;//www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/privacy.html
• Privacy Statement located in the Privacy link at the bottom of each page. It states that they
collect the following information.
• IP address from which you access the internet
• Data and time you viewed their page or pages
• Internet address of the Web site from which you linked directly to their site
• Name of the file or the words you searched.
• Browser used to access their site.
• Any information you personally provide to them.

22. 10. How does the site manage interactions with visitors?
e.g. MEDLINEplus – http;//medlineplus.gov
Email form to be filled out by the user.
No personal information is required.
Only ask for an email address if you want a reply.
The direct email address is also provided in case the form does not work.

23. SOURCES OF INFORMATION;
 DIGITAL LIBRARIE
 INSTITUTIONAL REPOSITORIES
 SUBJECT GATEWAYS
 PORTALS
 CONFERENCE PAPER
 IMAGES
 LAW AND TATUE
 NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
 STANDARDS
 STATISTICS-YEAR BOOKS
 THESES and DESSERTATIONS .

24. DIGITAL RESOURCES
• Search Engines
• Library Portals
• Library Resources
• E-Books
• E-Journals
• E-Newspapers
• E-Statistics
• E-Theses and Dessertations.

25. CONCLUTION;
So far we are discussed about literature search on
internet . Its consist of purpose, steps of literature search,
effective search strategy, concepts of question and breakdown
the concept, keywords and keywords concepts, and internet
search tools, evaluation criteria for literature search.