Slides from the Library Session for KN 500.

1. KN 500 LIBRARY
SESSION
September 1, 2015

2. Finding Research
 Define your question
 Plan your search
 Find the evidence
 Evaluate the literature
 Stay organized
Jamie Dwyer, MLS
Librarian/”Research Coach”
jamied@uic.edu

3. library.uic.edu
 Get Help
 Catalog Search
 Databases
 Research Guides
https://pollev.com/jamiedwyer184

4. Define your question using
PICO
 Patient/Population/Problem
 Intervention
 Comparison (if available)
 Outcome(s)
*View PICO: Developing the Answerable Clinical
Question (video under “View PICO Lecture”)
http://researchguides.uic.edu/content.php?pid=232200&sid=1921075

5. PICO Model Example 1
• Patient/Population/Problem
• Patients after knee replacement
• Intervention
• CPM therapy
• Comparison
• (No CPM therapy)
• Outcome
• Optimal range of motion
What is the effectiveness of continuous passive motion
therapy (CPM therapy) following knee replacement in
achieving optimal range of motion?

6. PICO Model Example 2
P (patient/problem/population) Stroke patients
I (intervention you are considering;
drug, surgery, counseling treatment
plan…)
Virtual reality (VR)
occupational therapy
C (comparison; alternative to
intervention; not always a comparison)
Non-VR (or no comparison)
O (outcomes; what you hope to
accomplish, measure, prove, etc.)
Therapeutic effectiveness
rehabilitation
http://libguides.greenriver.edu/content.php?pid=48934&sid=755695
Research Question: Are virtual reality programs an effective,
alternative tool for rehabilitation of stroke victims?

7. PICO Model Examples
 In underweight refugee children (P), will tube feeding
(I) safely restore weight and increase maximum
energy intake (O)?
 Is elective adult male circumcision (I) more effective
than sexual education (C) in reducing HIV acquisition
(O) in an urban Ugandan setting (P)?
 Will a public awareness campaign on the dangers of
indoor air pollution due to cooking with biomass fuels
in poorly ventilated spaces (I) lower the number of
respiratory infections (O) in poor households in
Bangladesh (P)?More PICO information from UIC
http://researchguides.uic.edu/content.php?pid=232200&sid=1921075

8. Find PICO in the Title
 Can exercise increase fitness and reduce weight in
patients with schizophrenia and depression?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25120495
 Meeting physical activity guidelines is associated with
reduced risk for cardiovascular disease in black
South African women; a 5.5-year follow-up study.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24886324
 Do soccer and Zumba exercise improve fitness and
indicators of health among female hospital
employees? A 12-week RCT.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24151956
 Weight and metabolic outcomes after 2 years on a
low-carbohydrate versus low-fat diet: a randomized
trial.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20679559

9. PICO Model: Background
Questions
• General knowledge
• Who/what/when/where/how/why
• Disorder/test/treatment/other aspect of health care
• Example: What is continuous passive motion therapy
(CPM therapy)?
Do you PICO?
 Probably not- consult a textbook, review article, book
 You might have to ask some background questions
before you can formulate a PICO question.

10. PICO Model: Background
Questions
• General knowledge
• Who/what/when/where/how/why
Where to look:
 Textbooks
 Access Physiotherapy (Access Medicine, etc.)
 Rehabilitation Reference Center
 UpToDate

11. PICO Model: Foreground
Questions
• Specific knowledge affecting clinical decisions
• “Seek evidence to answer a need for clinical
information related to a specific patient, intervention,
or therapy” (Hunter College guide)
• Example: What is the effectiveness of continuous
passive motion therapy (CPM therapy) following knee
replacement in achieving optimal range of motion?
Do you PICO?
 Yes! Primary medical literature

12. PICO Model: Foreground
Questions
• Specific knowledge affecting clinical decisions
• “Seek evidence to answer a need for clinical
information related to a specific patient,
intervention, or therapy” (Hunter College guide)
Where to look:
 PubMed
 Cochrane
 CINAHL
Additional Databases

13. Levels of Evidence
(& Meta Analyses)

14. PICO Model: Type of
question/problem
•Diagnosis
•Etiology
•Therapy
•Prognosis
•Prevention

15. Preferred Study Types for PICO
Questions
Type of Question Type of Study/Methodology
Therapy: information needed about treatments
(effectiveness, cost, etc.)
Double-Blind
Randomized Controlled Trial
Diagnosis: information needed about a
diagnostic test (sensitivity, accuracy, etc.)
Controlled Trial
Prognosis: information needed about the
course of the disease over time, expected
complications, etc.
Cohort Studies
Case Control
Case Series
Etiology/Harm: information needed about
causes of disease or contributing factors of
disease
Cohort Studies
Prevention: information needed about the
prevention of disease (immunization, social
factors, etc.)
Randomized Controlled Trial
Cohort Studies
Quality Improvement: information needed
about clients’ and health professionals’
experiences and concerns
Randomized Controlled Trial

16. Sample search: PICO
 Is resistance training more effective than
wearing knee braces to reduce pain caused by
patellar tendinosis in female volleyball
players?
 P- Female volleyball players w/patellar tendinosis
 I- Resistance training
 C- Knee braces
 O- Reduction of pain

17. Sample search: PICO
Worksheet
 Is resistance training more effective than
wearing knee braces to reduce pain caused by
patellar tendinosis in female volleyball
players?
 Circle the key concepts of your question.
(#2 on PICO worksheet)

18. Plan your search
 Preliminary searching
 Clinical tools (Rehabilitation Reference Center,
UpToDate, etc.)
 General reference resources (Wikipedia,
Textbooks)
 Identify synonyms & related terms
 Beware of jargon
 Look for controlled vocabulary (database terms)

19. Controlled vocabulary
 Database terms
 Thesaurus, Headings, Terms, Vocabulary
 Standardize terminology across all articles
 Nursing vs. Breastfeeding
 Social Media vs. Internet
 Kneecap vs. Patella
 Articles are indexed (“tagged”) with subject
headings to help you determine relevancy.

20. Plan your search
 Access “Rehabilitation Reference Center”
 Search for “patellar tendinosis”
 Great resource for synonyms, background
information, overview of topics, potential leads on
research articles.
 Fill in the chart on your PICO handout (#3) for
the key concepts identified in our question:
 Patellar tendinosis, volleyball,
resistance training, knee braces

21. Sample search: Key concepts &
terms
Key
Concepts
Resistan
ce
training
Knee
braces
Patellar
tendinosi
s
Volleybal
l
Synonyms/
Related terms
Strength
training
External
orthoses
Patellar
tendinopathy
Indoor
volleyball
Eccentric
exercises
Knee strap Jumper’s
knee
Beach
volleyball
Concentric
exercises
Patellar strap

22. Find the Evidence
 Library databases
 PubMed
 EMBASE
 Cochrane Library
 PEDro
 CIRRIE
 Rehabilitation & Sports Medicine Source
 Nutrition Evidence Library

23. Boolean Refresher
depression exercise
OR
Depression OR ExerciseDepression AND Exercise
AND
depression exercise
Depression NOT
Exercise
NOT
depression exercise
• Searching with AND combines terms. It gives you results that satisfy both
search terms (only where the two overlap). Some databases use + for AND.
• Searching with OR “means more”! It gives you everything available for each
term, including when they overlap. Some databases use | for OR.
• Searching with NOT excludes an entire term, including any overlap between
terms. Some databases use – for NOT.

24. Sample search: Database
exploration
 Search for:
“patellar tendinosis” AND volleyball AND
“resistance training”
in your highlighted database.
 Write notes on handout & submit responses
online. Prepare to report back to the group.

25. Sample search: Database
exploration
 One (1) helpful article (Author, year, title,
journal)
 Controlled vocabulary (database terms)
 Most successful search (did you add
synonyms? Remove a concept?)
 When would you use this database? i.e., what
are its strengths?

26. Stay organized: Save searches
 Use a spreadsheet to track database, search
terms, number of results, etc.
 Set up search alerts
 Save search results within databases
("Program Evaluation"[Mesh] OR program[tiab] OR
"Intervention Studies"[MeSH Terms] OR intervention[tiab])
AND (fear[MeSH Terms] OR fear[tiab]) AND (fall[tiab] OR
falling[tiab] OR falls[tiab] OR "falls prevention"[tiab] OR
"accidental falls"[MeSH Terms] OR "accidental falls"[tiab])
AND (community[tiab] OR group[tiab])

27. Stay organized: Citation
managers
 RefWorks, Zotero, EndNote
 Save article citations & build bibliographies

28. Questions?
Jamie Dwyer
jamied@uic.edu
Instructor Evaluation:
http://researchguides.uic.edu/kn5
00