August 18, 2004

Help With Systematic Reviews

Did you know that your library liaison can assist you in the literature review portion of a systematic review? The liaison can meet with you to discuss search strategies and appropriate databases as well as run those searches for you. Visit the Liaisons Page to contact your liaison or the Database Search Services page for more information about search services.

Examples of searches with which librarians have helped are:

  • Neher JO, Safranek S, Greenwald JL. What is the best therapy for superficial thrombophlebitis? J Fam Pract 2004 Jul; 53(7):583-5
  • Cadwallader K, Jankowski TA, Koenig C. Other than anticoagulation, what is the best therapy for those with atrial fibrillation? J Fam Pract 2004 Jul; 53:(7):581-3.

Wondering how to start on a systematic review? The following recent article provides a good overview:

  • Sutherland SE Matthews DC. Conducting systematic reviews and creating clinical practice guidelines in dentistry: lessons learned. J Am Dent Assoc 2004 Jun;135(6):747-53.

Posted by admin at 03:22 PM to Library Services

New Renewal Policies

Effective Friday, July 23, 2004 new renewal policies for UW Libraries' materials are in effect. To summarize, if an item does not have a hold placed on it:

  • HSLIC books can be renewed online 3 times
  • Other UW items that circulate for more than 14 days can have unlimited online renewals
  • After an item's 3rd renewal, you must return it. If there are no holds on the item, it may be checked out again immediately.

Remember, you can read more about Circulation Polices or renew an item online.

Posted by admin at 03:18 PM to Library Services

Database Changes

Several databases have released new interfaces, offering different ways of searching than previously. Take some time to make the best use of these new interfaces. Highlights are described below.

Micromedex now offers a "tabbed" layout (CareNotes is under Patient Education tab) and includes access to IV Index (data from Trissel's Tables on IV physical compatabilities).

Web of Science - in addition to being able to launch a Quick Search directly from the Welcome page, you may now manipulate sets of larger sizes, set up a cited reference alert and use the new Analyze Tool to mine useful information from search results. Using this feature, you can group results by author, publication year, journal subject category, institution, language, document type, or source title; and view a numerical and graphical representation of the analysis to discover trends or identify leaders in their field of research.

ProQuest (National Newspapers, Medical Library, ABI/Inform etc.) - The primary areas of enhancement are: "Smart Search" feature, which makes suggestions to users based on their input. Email enhancements, allowing multiple articles in a single message, full text in pdf or text My research summary, tracking searches and results.

Posted by admin at 03:11 PM to Electronic Resources