Advanced Searching

1. CINAHL AND PUBMED
SEARCHING
JULIE SARPY, PHD, MSLS, MA
REFERENCE & INSTRUCTION LIBRARIAN
LIAISON TO THE DR. KIRAN C. PATEL COLLEGES OF ALLOPATHIC
MEDICINE AND OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE
jsarpy@nova.edu
954-262-3121
954-262 –3106 (main)
hpdref@nova.ed

2. OBJECTIVES
• REVIEW OF KINDS OF RESEARCH
• UNDERSTAND VARIOUS FEATURES OF PUBMED & CINAHL AND GET PRACTICE USING
THEM.
• THE FEATURES OF THE SEARCH PAGES
• STRUCTURE A SEARCH WITH A PICO QUESTION
• CONDUCT AN ADVANCED SEARCH USING CONTROLLED VOCABULARY (MESH SUBJECT
HEADINGS, CINAHL SUBJECT HEADINGS) AND BOOLEAN OPERATORS (AND, OR, NOT)
• COMBINING YOUR SEARCH CONCEPTS USING SEARCH HISTORY
• REFINING YOUR SEARCH WITH LIMITS
• CHECKING FOR PEER REVIEW

3. IS IT RESEARCH?
• READ THE ABSTRACT FIRST BEFORE TRACKING DOWN FULL TEXT
• IS IT WRITTEN BY THE PEOPLE WHO DID THE RESEARCH?
• WHEN REVIEWING ARTICLE LOOK FOR:
*Background or Lit Review
*Methods
*Results
*Conclusions
*Discussion

4. CINAHL AND
PUBMED
HAVE TOOLS
(FILTERS) TO MAKE
THIS EASIER

5. SO WHERE DO
YOU FIND IT?
NOVA.EDU/HPDLIBRARY
*MEDLINE –
*COMPILED BY THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF
MEDICINE
*A DATABASE –NOT AN INTERFACE
*PUBMED IS - FREE, GOV’T FUNDED,
CITATIONS ONLY –NSU PROVIDES LINKS TO
FULL TEXT
*NSU OFFERS OTHER INTERFACES FOR
SEARCHING MEDLINE -OVID, EBSCO,
PROQUEST. . .

6. Search Strategy
PICO model can help build a focused
answerable question

7. The PICO(T) framework is a consistent
"formula" for developing literature search
strategies. PICO(T) stands for:
P = Population/Patient (you intend to study)
I = Intervention (drug/therapy that is
intervening)
C = Comparison/Control (intervention with
another drug, therapy, or placebo)
O = Outcome (did the intervention provide
relief)
(T) (optional) Time element or Type of Study
When you put all 4 ideas into one clinical
PICO Format

8. PICO EXAMPLE 1:
What are the adverse effects in infants who receive
the chickenpox vaccine?
The Population to be studied is infant;
the Intervention is the vaccine; the Comparison to be
studied are infants who do not receive the vaccine;
and the Outcome to be studied is the adverse effects
in those vaccinated.

9. PICO EXAMPLE 2:
For patients with type II diabetes, do routine
eye exams reduce the occurrence of
blindness?
The Population is patients with type II
diabetes. The Intervention is routine eye
exams. There is no Comparison. The
Outcome is reduced incidence of blindness.

10. ADVANCED SEARCHING
• PHRASE SEARCHING - SIDE-BY-SIDE SEARCHES
• BOOLEAN OPERATORS - AND, OR, AND NOT
• CONTROLLED VOCABULARY - MESH HEADINGS

11. PHRASE SEARCHING

12. BOOLEAN OPERATORS
AND
NARROW SEARCH RESULTS
ALL SEARCH TERMS MUST
BE PRESENT IN RESULTS
OR
BROADEN YOUR RESULTS
ANY OF YOUR SEARCH
TERMS CAN BE PRESENT IN
THE RESULTING RECORDS
NOT
EXCLUDE WORDS FROM
YOUR SEARCH
NARROW YOUR SEARCH
Cloningcloning human

17. Are flu vaccines safe for people
with egg allergies?
P-people with egg allergies
I-flu vaccines
C-n/a
O-safety
Using MeSH Headings in PubMed

18. BOOLEAN OPERATORS AND THE
INTERSECTION OF TWO SETS

19. MeSH Terms or Search Strategy
Synonyms

20. FILTERSChoose filters to
Narrow or Limit your
searches to relevant
fields, i.e. age, sex,
species, etc.

21. In elderly patients with high blood pressure, are ACE
inhibitors more effective than beta blockers in controlling
blood pressure and minimizing adverse effects?
P -elderly patients with high blood pressure
I -ACE inhibitors
C -beta blockers
O -controlling blood pressure
Using MeSH Headings in PubMed

22. COMBINE ALL THREE SETS WITH AND TO FIND
THE INTERSECTION

23. MeSH Terms or Search
Strategy Synonyms

24. FILTERS

25. MORE EXAMPLES
•Diabetes and the effects of long term effects of insulin
•Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy as Alternative Treatment
for Articular Cartilage Repair
•Treatment of Trichotillomania (hair pulling): Pharmacotherapy vs Psy

26. HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/USER/NLMNIH

27. CINAHL
• CUMULATIVE INDEX OF ALLIED HEALTH
LITERATURE --
• --NOT JUST FOR NURSES

28. CINAHL HEADINGS
MESH HEADINGS WITH SOME MODIFICATIONS TO MAKE THEM MORE APPLICABLE
TO OTHER FIELDS OF HEALTH CARE –USE THEM THE SAME WAY

29. CINAHL SEARCHING
• “RECENT ARTICLES ON HEART ATTACKS AND ASPIRIN USE IN MIDDLE AGED
WOMEN.”
• USE SUBJECT HEADINGS
• COMBINE SETS WITH AND
• USE AGE AND SEX FILTERS

30. CINAHL HEADING SEARCHING

31. FILTERS

32. MORE WAYS TO SEARCH
CLINICAL QUERIES
SUBSETS

33. MORE WAYS TO
SEARCH
TOPIC
“REVIEW ARTICLES ON
FALLS PREVENTION IN
THE ELDERLY NOT IN
NURSING HOMES”

34. ORGANIZE YOUR SEARCH STRATEGY USING PICO OR ANOTHER
METHOD
USE MESH & CINAHL HEADINGS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SUBJECT
EXPERTS CATALOGING USING CONTROLLED VOCABULARY
USE SUBHEADINGS, LIMIT TO MAIN TOPIC, FOR PRECISION
BUILD A SEARCH STEP-BY-STEP,
COMBINE THEM WITH BOOLEAN OPERATORS
USE LIMITS TO FURTHER REFINE RESULTS
Review

35. Julie Sarpy, PhD, MSLS, MA
Reference Support Librarian
Liaison to the Colleges of
Allopathic and Dental Medicine
jsarpy@nova.edu
954-262-3121
hpdref@nova.edu - goes to all
the reference librarians
(954) 262 – 3106 (main)