Introduction to literature searching

http://unihub.mdx.ac.uk/study/library/

Today we are going to cover...

• Finding the evidence

• Searching effectively for journal articles

• Evaluating information

• Using information ethically (citing and referencing)

Evidence

Exercise 1 - Discuss in pairs

• What is evidence?

• How and why might evidence be useful in healthcare practice?

What Is Evidence?

“Information or signs indicating whether something is true or valid” Compact Oxford Dictionary for Students (2006)

You will need to provide appropriate evidence to support any claims or arguments made in your assignments

Evidence-Based Practice

“…involves the conscientious use of current best evidence in making decisions about patient care…”

Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: a guide to best practice (2005)

Where’s the evidence?• Guidelines for practice, e.g.

NICE clinical guidelines are based on research evidence from specialist resources

• High quality, peer-reviewed research in journal articles

• Articles can be found using specialist subject databases

Today we’re going to search for literature on...

Culture and professional practice

What are the important concepts in your learning log topic? Are there other terms for the same ideas?

Please open Mozilla Firefox!

• In the A-Z window on the desktop (on university PCs)

• Login to myUniHub

Library Subject Guides

Exercise 3

• Use Summon and InterNurse and search for articles on culture and professional practice

• Remember to try other related keywords too

Evaluating what you’ve found

Is it what you need and is it trustworthy?

What criteria would you use to assess the relevance and quality of the information?

The C A R P test

C A R P• Currency - How old is the information? When

was it last updated?• Authority - Who is the author / site creator?

What is their background? Is the article published in a scholarly/peer reviewed journal?

• Relevance - Is this what I need? Will it answer my question? Is it at the right level?

• Purpose - What is the purpose of the information e.g. financial gain, propaganda, academic, etc.

Exercise 4

• Work in groups• 5 resources and evaluation sheet

• For each resource, decide as a group if it meets the criteria.

• No need to read the whole thing!

Referencing

• Is very important• Acknowledges other people’s work (avoids

plagiarism)• Shows you’ve read around the subject• Supports your discussion and arguments• Gets you better marks!• Enables others to find your references

Referencing – style guide

Exercise 5

• Rearrange the cards you’ve been given into a complete reference.

• What sort of resource is it? (Book, journal etc.)

• Swap with your neighbour

What we’ve covered

• Using evidence based resources

• Searching effectively for journal articles

• Critically evaluating information

• Using information ethically (citing and referencing)

Need help?

• Librarians in the Specialist Zone (1st floor) during core hours Monday - Friday

• Ask a Librarian http://askalibrarian.mdx.ac.uk/• Nursing Library Subject Guide http

://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/nursing