Effective literature searching: using the healthcare databases
How to Literature Search Effectively
This series of short modules was produced by Learning for Health and Health Education England.
These modules are designed to help the healthcare staff build confidence to search published literature for articles and evidence relevant to their work, study and research. The modules are short (each taking no more than 20 minutes to complete) and may be ‘dipped into’ for reference, or completed to obtain a certificate. There are seven modules suitable for novice searchers and those wishing to refresh their knowledge:
Building the foundations
Module 1 Introduction to searching
Module 2 Where do I start searching?
Module 3 How do I start to develop a search strategy?
Developing the skills
Module 4 Too many results? How to narrow your search
Module 5 Too few results? How to broaden your search
Module 6 Searching with subject headings
Applying the skills
Module 7 How to search the Healthcare Databases (HDAS)
Using the NHS HDAS for Literature Searching Video
This series of YouTube videos is produced by NICE. They cover a full range of search functions of the software that allows NHS staff to access biomedical databases such as Medline, CINAHL and Embase.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRbwbc3dfXUO3IYIun-5ICK-Q059JXtgk
Planning Ahead: Making your search work
A short online lesson from Manchester University on how to plan and implement a search strategy.
https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/learning-objects/mle/planning-search/story_html5.html
This series of short modules was produced by Learning for Health and Health Education England.
These modules are designed to help the healthcare staff build confidence to search published literature for articles and evidence relevant to their work, study and research. The modules are short (each taking no more than 20 minutes to complete) and may be ‘dipped into’ for reference, or completed to obtain a certificate. There are seven modules suitable for novice searchers and those wishing to refresh their knowledge:
Building the foundations
Module 1 Introduction to searching
Module 2 Where do I start searching?
Module 3 How do I start to develop a search strategy?
Developing the skills
Module 4 Too many results? How to narrow your search
Module 5 Too few results? How to broaden your search
Module 6 Searching with subject headings
Applying the skills
Module 7 How to search the Healthcare Databases (HDAS)
Using the NHS HDAS for Literature Searching Video
This series of YouTube videos is produced by NICE. They cover a full range of search functions of the software that allows NHS staff to access biomedical databases such as Medline, CINAHL and Embase.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRbwbc3dfXUO3IYIun-5ICK-Q059JXtgk
Planning Ahead: Making your search work
A short online lesson from Manchester University on how to plan and implement a search strategy.
https://www.escholar.manchester.ac.uk/learning-objects/mle/planning-search/story_html5.html
Our standard training session:
This intensive training session covers how to search the healthcare databases effectively to retrieve articles for patient care, continuing professional development or study. For full dates and time, please see the current training timetable.
This page introduces you to the training we provide and gives you an overview of the healthcare databases and how to use them.
The healthcare databases are hosted by the NICE Evidence search Journals and Databases Page and can be found in the Search section of that page.
The following databases are available
Using this interface, it is possible to search all these databases at the same time. You can search Medline without logging in. However, to search all other databases and to get access to all the full text articles available, you will need to use an NHS Athens user name and password.
This intensive training session covers how to search the healthcare databases effectively to retrieve articles for patient care, continuing professional development or study. For full dates and time, please see the current training timetable.
This page introduces you to the training we provide and gives you an overview of the healthcare databases and how to use them.
The healthcare databases are hosted by the NICE Evidence search Journals and Databases Page and can be found in the Search section of that page.
The following databases are available
- Allied and Complementary Medicine (AMED) - covers a selection of journals in complementary medicine, palliative care, and allied professions
- British Nursing Index (BNI) - indexes articles from the most popular English language nursing journals published primarily in the UK
- Cumulative Index of Nursing & Allied Health (CINAHL) - a comprehensive source covering all aspects of nursing and allied health disciplines
- EMBASE - a major biomedical and pharmaceutical database indexing over 3,500 international journals
- HEALTH BUSINESS ELITE - covers aspects of healthcare administration and other non-clinical aspects of health care institution management
- HMIC - a compilation of data from the Department of Health's Library & Information Services and King's Fund Information & Library Service
- MEDLINE - the United States National Library of Medicine's premier bibliographic database
- PsycINFO - covers psychological practice and research as well as the related clinical, social and biological disciplines
Using this interface, it is possible to search all these databases at the same time. You can search Medline without logging in. However, to search all other databases and to get access to all the full text articles available, you will need to use an NHS Athens user name and password.
Three main search facilities are available:
- Simple search - will give you a general idea of what is available on a particular topic
- Advanced search across a range of databases - this allows you to focus on your search terms, build up your search in stages and combine your results
- Advanced search of one database at a time - this allows you to use the database thesaurus of medical subject headings which will help you retrieve articles which use different terminology for the same concept
Searching the healthcare databases will provide you with:
- title, author and full bibliographic details - you can also view an abstract, if there is one
- publication date and the database from which the article has been retrieved
- information about whether we hold a hard copy in stock in the RFT library
- links to full text articles
Training
Our Effective Literatue Searching training session will give you further information on how to improve your searching in order to retrieve more relevant results. The techniques you will learn include how to:
If you wish to book onto a session please see the current training timetable. We also offer one-to-one training on this subject.
Back to About our training
Our Effective Literatue Searching training session will give you further information on how to improve your searching in order to retrieve more relevant results. The techniques you will learn include how to:
- break down complex search questions to ensure you search effectively
- combine searches in ways that will give you more comprehensive results
- add connectors and operators to your search terms to influence the results you retrieve
- use limiters to restrict by date, gender, age group and other criteria
- use the thesaurus of subject headings to make sure you retrieve a wider range of articles on your chosen subject
If you wish to book onto a session please see the current training timetable. We also offer one-to-one training on this subject.
Back to About our training