Using NICE Evidence Search
While our face-to-face training programme is suspended we can still help you to develop your information skills. Please see the online sources of support below. If you'd like telephone or email support with information skills please contact Colin.Lynch@nhs.net (01709 427139). We are still able to offer some limited training in the library with social distancing in place: please contact Colin for further details.
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
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
Using NICE Evidence Search
This guide summarises the resources available via the NICE Evidence Search main portal.
If you wish to undertake training on this or any other topic, please consult our Information Skills Training Timetable.
The NICE Evidence Search site provides you with an access point for a wide variety of healthcare resources; guidance, pathways, research, medicines information and Clinical Knowledge Summaries. It also gives you access to the journals and databases gateway. The main search box does not retrieve articles from the healthcare databases, such as Medline, CINAHL, etc. If you want to know how to use the healthcare databases to find a range of journal articles, please read the section on Effective Literature Searching.
Access to NICE Evidence Search is at this address: http://www.evidence.nhs.uk/
If you wish to undertake training on this or any other topic, please consult our Information Skills Training Timetable.
The NICE Evidence Search site provides you with an access point for a wide variety of healthcare resources; guidance, pathways, research, medicines information and Clinical Knowledge Summaries. It also gives you access to the journals and databases gateway. The main search box does not retrieve articles from the healthcare databases, such as Medline, CINAHL, etc. If you want to know how to use the healthcare databases to find a range of journal articles, please read the section on Effective Literature Searching.
Access to NICE Evidence Search is at this address: http://www.evidence.nhs.uk/
|
On this page you will find information about:
Using the search box Using the Evidence Search menu Using the NICE menu Subscribing to bulletins and alerts |
The web site is available from any computer with Internet access. Searching is free as are many of the documents you will retrieve. However, to access some resources, ebooks and journal articles you will need to register for an NHS Athens account.
Using the search box
NICE Evidence Search has a simple search box.
Enter search terms into the box and click search to retrieve a list of results.
The results will come from a range of credible medical resources and might include: systematic reviews, guidance and research.
You can narrow down the number of results you get by using the filters on the left hand side. Hover over each filter to see how many results you would retrieve in each category.
Click on these categories to filter your results.
NICE Evidence Search has a simple search box.
Enter search terms into the box and click search to retrieve a list of results.
The results will come from a range of credible medical resources and might include: systematic reviews, guidance and research.
You can narrow down the number of results you get by using the filters on the left hand side. Hover over each filter to see how many results you would retrieve in each category.
Click on these categories to filter your results.
Improving your search
It is possible to add different vocabulary and punctuation to your search to influence the kind of results you retrieve:
If you type more than one word in the search box, you will find articles in which all the words are contained. The more words you add, the fewer results you will find. However, the words won't necessarily appear near each other in the articles.
If you want to search for a phrase, keeping words together, use phrase marks " "
For example: "heart disease" "bowel cancer" "evidence based practice"
This will reduce the number of results you get, but they will be more relevant.
Acronyms, alternative spellings and plurals are automatically searched.
You can obtain a printed guide on how to use NICE Evidence Search from the Library and Knowledge Service.
It is possible to add different vocabulary and punctuation to your search to influence the kind of results you retrieve:
If you type more than one word in the search box, you will find articles in which all the words are contained. The more words you add, the fewer results you will find. However, the words won't necessarily appear near each other in the articles.
If you want to search for a phrase, keeping words together, use phrase marks " "
For example: "heart disease" "bowel cancer" "evidence based practice"
This will reduce the number of results you get, but they will be more relevant.
Acronyms, alternative spellings and plurals are automatically searched.
You can obtain a printed guide on how to use NICE Evidence Search from the Library and Knowledge Service.
Using the menus
The second level Evidence Search menu gives you access to the British National Formulary, BNF for Children, Clinical Knowledge Summaries and Journals and databases gateway:
The second level Evidence Search menu gives you access to the British National Formulary, BNF for Children, Clinical Knowledge Summaries and Journals and databases gateway:
The top level NICE menu provides links to the main services provided by NICE: pathways, guidance, standards and indicators:
|
Bulletins and alerts
At the bottom of the main page is an option to subscribe to the various bulletins and alerts published by NICE:
|
|
Please remember, if you wish to undertake training on this or any other topic, please consult our Information Skills Training Timetable.
Back to About our training
Back to About our training