Activity 7

Finding Medical Research

1. Access the Alvin Sherman Library at www.nova.edu/library/main/ and click on the the Electronic Resources link at the top of the page.
2. Click on Databases.
3. Select NSU Patrons, input your last name and University ID number (this is your N#), and click on the Submit button.
4. Under Browse by Subject select Health & Medicine.
5. Click on the Get List button.
6. Select one of the following subject indexes to find a clinical article:
   
   
   • MEDLINE : The NSU libraries offer MEDLINE through several different vendors. We recommend the versions offered by Ovid or EBSCOhost, but it is your personal choice which one you would like to use.
     
     
     • For MEDLINE (FirstSearch) - For general information on searching FirstSearch databases, see the First Search Tutorial
       <http://www.nova.edu/library/dils/lessons/firstsearch/>
       
       
     • For MEDLINE (CSA) - For general information on searching Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA) databases, see the CSA Tutorial
       <http://www.nova.edu/library/dils/lessons/cambridge/>
       
       This tutorial is not specific to MEDLINE, but will give you an overall view of using CSA. Note: MEDLINE via CSA goes back to only 1989, and there is no searchable thesaurus available.
       
       
     • For MEDLINE (EBSCOhost) - For information on searching EBSCOhost databases, the Health Professions Division Library offers an EBSCOhost Guide
       <http://www.nova.edu/cwis/hpdlibrary/pdf/ebscogd.pdf>
       
       
     • For MEDLINE (Ovid) - For a detailed tutorial on searching the Ovid version of MEDLINE, see the MEDLINE Tutorial
       <http://www.nova.edu/library/dils/lessons/medline/>
       
       When searching MEDLINE, check for MeSH terms under Complete Reference. The term with an asterisk (*) means, it is a major index term. Remember, the most effective way of searching MEDLINE is to use the MeSH terms whenever possible. Please make sure you 'limit' your search last, only after you are done constructing your search by using MeSH terms and combining them with Boolean operators. To limit your search to research articles, follow these steps: From the Publication Type, select Clinical Trial (this will automatically include all four phases), Controlled Clinical, Randomized Controlled Trial, or Meta Analysis. Note Research is NOT a Publication Type in MEDLINE (OVID), however you can type in 'research' as a MeSH term and combine it with your other search terms.
       
       
   • CINAHL
     For CINAHL (EBSCOHost) - The Health Professions Division Library offers a multimedia CINAHL Tutorial.
     <http://www.nova.edu/cwis/hpdlibrary/cinahl.html>
     
     Also take a look at this CINAHL Tutorial
     <http://www.nova.edu/library/dils/lessons/cinahl/>
     
     When searching CINAHL, select your key terms (preferably as MH Exact Subject Heading or as MW Word in Major Heading or MM Exact Major Heading), construct your search and then click on 'limit.' You can select from Clinical Trial, Research or Systematic Review.
     
     
   • MDConsult
     
     It is better to search each section of MDConsult separately, for example Journals, Books, etc. You can search all sections simultaneously, meaning it searches Clinics, Reference Books, Journal/MEDLINE, Drug Information, Drug Updates, News Current Practice, Clinical Images, Patient Guidelines, Guideline Updates, and Student Union important current topics for resources from a single search query.
     NOTE: Searching everywhere can take longer, and search strategies are different for each area (e.g., Drugs).