Vet Med Literature Searching
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Contents |
[edit] Searching for Articles
There are several ways to search the veterinary medical literature for research and review articles. Although the four methods described below complement one another, Indexes are the most important.
[edit] Indexes
Indexes point you to the literature -- especially the journal literature. Although Indexes can be searched by keyword, not all keywords are equal. The most valuable keywords are what can be thought of as "super tags". In PubMed "super tags" are called Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). Searching on the right MeSH terms for a subject can make a huge difference in the quality of the search results.
- PubMed or Medline (same data, different interface)
- PubMed (or Medline) is the most important database for veterinary medicine. It covers basic biomedical research and clinical sciences for all health sciences. It also covers life sciences for biomedical practitioners and researchers. Time spent learning how to use PubMed will be quickly repaid. The National Library of Medicine has put together several short videos and handouts on how best to search PubMed and an extensive help section.
- CAB Abstracts
- In addition to its coverage of animal health and veterinary medicine, CAB Abstracts also covers agricultural biotechnology, animal production & genetics, dairy science, and genetics.
- Agricola
- In addition to partially covering veterinary medicine, Agricola covers animal science, cytology, feed science, and microbiology.
- Web of Science (aka Science Citation Index)
- Web of Science is an interdisciplinary database that covers the major journals in all sciences (including the medical sciences) and engineering. It is the major "who cited this paper?" database.
- Biological Abstracts
- Biological Abstracts can be valuable for microbiology, genetics, agriculture, biotechnology, biophysics, bioengineering, and the traditional areas of biology.
- Zoological Record
- Zoological Record covers parasitology, behavior, zoogeography, and the traditional areas of zoology.
- SciFinder Scholar
- For research that has anything to do with chemistry, try searching SciFinder Scholar.
- International Pharmaceutical Abstracts
- International Pharmaceutical Abstracts covers pharmaceutical science and health related literature from 1970.
- SPORTDiscus
- Sports medicine is covered in SPORTDiscus.
- Google Scholar
- Although Google Scholar lacks the indexing that the databases listed above offer, Google Scholar can be useful to check references and to perform a "who cited this paper?" search.
[edit] "Footnote Chasing"
- Who doesn't chase footnotes? Starting from the right paper (i.e., one with a targeted review of the literature) footnote chasing can take you to the best references in a research area. Its effectiveness depends on the author of the the paper whose footnotes you are chasing and the quality of the references they chose. The main drawbacks of footnote chasing are that it rarely provides a comprehensive search and that it only searches backwards in time.
[edit] "Who cited this paper?"
- A few Index databases allow you to find articles that cite a particular paper. If you are starting from a critical reference, then this can be a quick way to search -- sometimes in a surprisingly comprehensive way. The strengths of this method is that it searches forward in time (in contrast to footnote searching) and that it allows the literature to index itself. For veterinary medicine, the best databases for "who cited this paper?" searching are Web of Science, SciFinder Scholar, Google Scholar. PubMed has begun adding "Who cited this paper?" searching but only for the past year -- it covers only a tiny fraction of PubMed.
[edit] People
- It easy to forget how valuable people are in your literature searches, especially when you are getting started in a new area of research. Professors, residents, fellow graduate student can help you go directly to important papers and key authors or point out techniques, concepts, or research areas that may be helpful.
[edit] Getting Full-Text of Articles
[edit] Electronic linking from Index databases
- Auburn University has online access to many journals. The easiest way to access an online article is via a link that takes you directly to the article.
- E-Journals
- This "back door" to the library catalog is an easy way to find journals to which the library has online access. The E-Journals page can also be used as a springboard into the library catalog to learn about the library's print holdings for a journal.
- PubMed ID Number
- Copy the PubMed ID from a PubMed record and paste it in Auburn's E-Journals page in the box labeled "Search by DOI or PubMed ID Number".
- Article Linker
- Click on the link for Article Linker in Medline, Web of Science, CAB, Agricola, Biological Abstracts, Zoological Record, SPORTDiscus, and Google Scholar.
- There are a couple of not-so-obvious tricks about what to do when an Article Linker or a PubMed ID search does not take you to the article. We may still have access to the article ... usually in print, but sometimes online.
[edit] Print Journals
- Much of the older literature (and some new literature) may only be available in print. To find out whether Auburn University has the journal you need, for the year(s) that you need, search the Library Catalog by journal title. Find the record for the journal and make sure that the library has the year that you need. The record will tell you where to find the journal. It may be in the Cary Veterinary Medical Library or the RBD Library (the main campus library). To get a copy of an article in a print journal, you can either go to the library and make a photocopy or use AUBIExpress (described below).
[edit] Library Services
- Delivery Services
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- Request electronic delivery of an article owned by Auburn University Libraries.
- Request delivery of a book or bound journals owned by Auburn University Libraries. When Veterinary College patrons are asked "Do we have your permission to check out this item to your Library ID" it is recommended that you choose "Deliver to Library Above No Checkout".
- Borrow an article, book, or dissertation from another library or provider. Use ILL when the Auburn University Libraries does not have the journal or book that you need.
- For a complete list of delivery options.
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- Recommend a book purchase
- If the library does not have a book, please feel free to recommend we purchase it. Contact the Veterinary Medical Librarian directly with your recommendation.
[edit] Productivity Tools
[edit] My NCBI
- PubMeb users should take advantage of My NCBI to save searches and to set up e-mail alerts for new PubMed additions.
[edit] EndNote
- EndNote is reference management software which helps manage bibliographies and references when you write an article. Auburn University does not have a site license, but some departments and research groups have purchased multiple copies for their researchers. Individuals can purchase at the AU Bookstore at the academic discount rate ($110 students; $190 faculty). A comprehensive ninety minute EndNote Class is offered at the main library roughly every two weeks. For examples of how EndNote can be used to control how your paper formats citations and bibliographies take a look at this handout.
[edit] Ref Works
- RefWorks is similar to EndNote. The major difference is that it is web-based. Auburn University does not have a site license. RefWorks costs $100 per year.
[edit] Zotero
- Zotero is a free alternative to EndNote and RefWorks. It is an open source Firefox extension that excels at capturing citation data from websites. After installing a Word plugin, Zotero can be used for citations in a Word document.
- Created by Bob Buchanan © 2008
- Librarian for Veterinary Medicine and Chemistry
- Auburn University Libraries