• After you login, a list of all available databases will appear, from which you will be prompted to choose one to search.  If you are doing a comprehensive search, you may want to consider searching for your topic in multiple databases, one at a time.

• Click directly on the desired database name to begin.

• If you need more information, click the "i" icon to the left of any database name to display its field guide. The field guides include sample records, a list of searchable fields, and producer information. If you click "i," you will need to click your Web browser's Back button to return to the database list.
  
  We will select the most recent segment of MEDLINE.

2. Change Databases -                                                                     back to top

• When you change databases without logging off, Ovid will display the Re-Run Searches Page. If you have already created searches and want to transfer them to the new database without having to retype them, choose "yes" when prompted. Remember: every database is different, so a search in one database may need to be modified to work well in another database. You can change databases to start a new search or re-run the same search strategy in several databases.

• After completing your initial search, click on the Change Database Icon at the top of  the main search screen.

• From the Database Selection Menu, click on the database you wish to search.  We will select the next most recent segment of MEDLINE.

• Click on Yes in the dialog box if you wish to re-run the same strategy or No if you wish to start a new search.
  

3. Define Your Search Topic                                                          back to top 

       
Analyze your search needs and define your search topic in your own words. State the topic in a well focused sentence or question. Example: Safety of Intubation in patients with Spinal Cord Injuries.  By defining your specific information needs, searching will be accurate and relevant. This is a preparatory step and not part of the database.

4. Identify Individual Concepts                                                        back to top

 The next step is to break your well focused sentence or question topic into important parts to enter as search terms, such as the patient or subject group, problem, intervention, outcome, and/or type of study that will provide the best information. Example: Intubation, Spinal Cord Injuries This is a preparatory step and not part of the database.

5. Main Search Window                                                                  back to top

6. Enter Search Terms                                                                      back to top 

• Use the command line in the middle of the search screen to type your query. Enter your first key concept term at the command line prompt. The command line reads "Enter Keyword or phrase".  Then press on the "Perform Search" button.

• Do not enter more than one key concept at a time or extraneous phrases. Entering one concept at a time will enable you to take full advantage of the mapping feature and to display the total number of citations to each concept before combining them.

• If the "Map Term to Subject Heading" box is selected, the system will attempt to translate the term to the appropriate MeSH term. If the system does not map your concept to an exact match or to a closely related MeSH term, select near the bottom of the screen "Search as a Keyword" and search the concept as a word in the title or abstract, subject heading, or registry number word.  The prompt indicates what type of query Ovid currently expects, e.g. "keyword." You may also use Ovid command line syntax.

• If you wish to search other fields, such as author, journal, title, words in titles and abstracts (textwords), you must first click on the appropriate icon at the top of the Main Search Window and then enter the term in the dialog box.

7. Keyword Search                                                                           back to top

• Search by entering a single subject word or phrase at the (Enter Keyword or phase) line and click on the Perform Search button. Mapping will help find relevant subject headings for your term in databases where (Map Term to Subject Heading) is available and selected. In databases where Mapping is not available, the word or phrase will be searched in the keyword fields for that database.

• If your subject heading search retrieves no suitable terms, try a keyword search. The keyword search function looks for words and phrases appearing in the titles and abstracts of articles. If you enter a term that does not bring up a suitable subject heading, click on the Search as Keyword option at the bottom of the list of subject headings, and then click on Continue. A textword search will look for the occurrence of the exact word or phrase within Titles, Abstracts, Registry Number Words, Subject Headings, but there is no guarantee that the word or phrase will be the topic of the article.
  

8. Map Term to Subject Heading                                                      back to top

The "Map Term to Subject Heading" checkbox activates the Ovid Mapping feature. When you type your query and click the Perform Search button, you will have the opportunity to select the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) or controlled vocabulary term(s) that most closely matches your desired concept. Ovid automatically checks the Tree or Thesaurus for the most appropriate terms, and displays those terms in a list. Since the MEDLINE database has a MeSH tree structure, you will also have the opportunity to choose subheadings.

• Click the Map Term to Subject Heading checkbox on the Main Search Page to turn on this feature.
  

• Enter a single concept to search on the command line

• Click the Perform Search button.
  

• Ovid presents the Mapping Display Page, which lists up to ten controlled vocabulary terms most likely to be used for your desired subject.

• Click any term to see its Tree or Thesaurus display.

• Click the Select checkbox to the left of desired term(s). If none of the terms appears to match your desired subject, click the checkbox for the last line, "Search as Keyword."

• Using the pull-down menu at the top of the page, combine your selections with the Boolean OR (to retrieve at least one selected term in each document) or AND (to retrieve all selected terms in each document).

• If available in this database, clicking the Explode checkbox(es) for any term(s) will search the term(s) ORed with all its conceptually narrower terms. Choose Explode for the most comprehensive retrieval.

• If available in this database, clicking the Focus checkbox(es) will specify whether the chosen term should be one of the main topics discussed in the retrieved documents.

• Click the Continue button to move to the next step. Or click the Main Search Page button to cancel the mapping process:

9. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)                                               back to top

The MEDLINE database is indexed by professional reviewers who read each article completely and then assign index terms to describe (as specifically as possible) the contents of the article. The terms come from a standardized list of vocabulary and definitions called MeSH (Medical Subject Headings). The idea behind MeSH is that all articles about the same concept are assigned the same standard subject heading, regardless of the exact words the author uses. For example, one author may use shingles, the other herpes zoster, but both articles will be indexed to herpes zoster. The best way to search MEDLINE is to use the MeSH terms.

10. Author Search                                                                            back to top
When you click the Author icon to search for documents written by a certain person, the Main Search Page Command Line prompt changes. Anything typed at the author prompt will be searched only in the author (au) field of the database.

• Enter a last name, followed by a space and the first and middle initial(s), if known.
  Example: Banovac K.

• In the resulting Authors Index Display, you can use the on-screen buttons to page forward and backward to view index entries. Since author names are entered as they appear in the source document, it is important to scan the index for name variations. Authors sometimes publish with and without their middle initials, so the same author may be entered under more than one name form. Click on each name in the index that might be relevant and click OK. The system will OR together all name variations and post the results at the Main Search Screen.

11. Title Search                                                                                back to top

When you click the Title icon on the Main Search Page, you can search for documents that contain your desired word or phrase in the title field. Note that the Main Search Page Command Line prompt has changed. Anything typed at the title prompt will be searched only in the title (ti) field of the database.

• Enter the word or phrase to be searched.

• If you wish, select any desired limits on this page.

• Then click the Perform Search button.

• Search results will be posted at the Main Search Scren

12. Journal Search                                                                            back to top

When you click the Journal icon on the Main Search Page, you can search for documents that appeared in a desired journal. Note that the Main Search Page Command Line prompt has changed. Anything typed at the journal prompt will be searched only in the journal (jn) field of the database.

• Enter the first few words of the journal title (omit initial articles such as the, a, an).  For example, the title "the journal of clinical investigation" should be entered as "journal of clinical investigation."

• From the resulting index display, click the checkbox next to the desired journal name, then click the Perform Search button.

• Search results will be posted at the Main Search Screen.

13. Truncate                                                                                     back to top

• The "Map Term to Subject Heading" option needs to be deselected.

• Enter common word stems by ending them with the character $.

• Truncation is used to ensure retrieval of all possible variations of a term. For example, entering hypno$ would retrieve hypnotize, hypnotized, hypnotizing, hypnosis, hypnotics, etc. from Titles, Abstracts, Registry Number Words, and Subject Headings.

14. Command Line Syntax.                                                               back to top

Many Ovid commands may be entered directly on the Command Line. This lets advanced users bypass the Icons displayed at the top of the Main Search Screen to save time. The list below explains the most frequently used commands. You may use uppercase or lowercase letters. Be sure to observe correct placement of the period, comma, and forward-slash characters. Consult the Database Field Guides for more information (click on the "i" icon in front of each database to access the Database Field Guides):

x.yy. Searches for word or phrase x in field yy.	x.yy,zz. Searches for word or phrase x in fields yy OR zz.	..c/x Changes to database x. Consult the Database Field Guides for code names.
..e x Executes temporary or permanent search strategy x.	..l/n yr=x Limits set n to publication year x, where x is a 2-digit year or hyphenated 2-digit year range (e.g., "94-96").	Limit n to x Limits set n by Command Line limit x. Consult the Database Field Guides for available Command Line limits.
..o Ends your search session and returns to the Login Page.	..ps Displays your complete search strategy during the current session. If desired, use your Web browser's print function once your strategy is displayed.	..root x.yy. Displays alphabetic position of word x in index for field yy.
..root x.yy,zz. Displays alphabetic position of word x in combined indexes for fields yy and zz.	..sv x Saves search strategy temporarily (24 hours) with name x.	..sv ps(x) Saves search strategy permanently with name x.

15. Search Fields                                                                             back to top

• Search for a word or phrase contained in one or more specific documents fields by clicking on the Search Fields icon at the top of the Main Search Screen. Enter a word or phrase and select the desired field (Title, Institution, CAS Registry Number, Publication Type, Volume Number, Page Number, etc. )

• For example, you may want to locate articles by authors who are affiliated with institutions that specialize in treatment or research of headache. Select Institution from the list of options, and enter headache in the command line.

• Searching additional fields can be especially useful in locating documents when you have an incomplete citation. You can, for instance, find an article if you know a few words from the journal title, year, and volume number, whether or not you remember the names of the authors or title of the article. You will find this feature especially useful to verify citations for publications.
  

16. Viewing the Results                                                                     back to top

The "Search History" window shows the last four sets you have created. When you click the Perform Search button on the Main Search Page, results appear immediately, usually in groups of 10 titles at a time. Titles display begins immediately below the search interface, and you can scroll down to see it. The titles display starts with a section heading that contains the results of your search, the number of citations retrieved, and the range of currently displayed items (e.g. 1-10, 11-20, etc.) Additional links appear at the end of each citation, allowing you to display more information (e.g., Abstract, Complete Record, Table of Contents, or Full Text).

17. Search History Window                                                             back to top

Every time you click the Perform Search button, Ovid keeps a record of your search in the search history window. Each search (also known as a set) is numbered consecutively in the "#" column. The quantity of documents retrieved by each search is listed in the "Results" column. Once you have created some searches, a new column appears, called "Display." Click the "Display" link to view the results of any search. Via the command line, you can refer to any search in a new query by typing its number.

18. Expand Search History                                                               back to top

The search history window shows your last four searches by default. If you have performed more than four searches in your current session, click the Expand Search History button to view them all. The searches remain in view until the next time the Main Search Screen redraws.

19. Save/Run Search Buttons                                                           back to top

You can run a previously created Saved Search by clicking the Run Saved Search button. If you have created any searches during your current session, a new button will appear, Save Search History, that lets you save your searches on the server so that you can return to them later.

20. Enter Additional Terms                                                                 back to top 

Command Line. Use this text entry area to type your query. The prompt indicates what type of query Ovid currently expects, e.g. "keyword." You may also use Command Line Syntax.

21. Broaden Your Search:                                                                  back to top

Find everything about the topic (may include some irrelevant items).  In a broad search, the number of key concepts or search statements is reduced, while the number of documents retrieved is increased. To broaden your search:

• Search terms in multiple fields

• Combine related terms with OR

• Use the Explode button

• Do not restrict to Focus

• Do not attach Subheadings

• Do not apply Limits

22. Narrow Your Search:                                                                  back to top

Find a few good references on the topic (may miss some relevant items).  In a narrow search, the number of key concepts is increased and search statements are more complex, while fewer documents are retrieved. Search results are often further restricted by applying limits such as age groups, gender, language, publication types, etc. To narrow your search:

• Restrict to Focus

• Attach Subheadings if appropriate

• Combine sets with AND

• Apply Limits

• Evaluate a few good documents and rerun your search using MeSH terms found in the relevant records

23. Tools                                                                                         back to top

Click the (Tools) icon at the top of the Main Search Screen to activate the special searching capabilities of this database, including Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). Tools include the Tree, Permuted Index, Scope Note, Explode, Focus, Subheadings.  On this page, click the button for the tool you wish to use, enter the desired keyword, and click the Perform Search button. Since they are designed according to the database structure, Tools can be used both to learn more about database design, and as shortcuts to certain structural elements in the database.   (Note: Tools is not available in every database.)

24. Trees                                                                                          back to top

In databases such as MEDLINE, CINAHL, AIDSLINE, etc., index terms are arranged in a hierarchy, with broader concepts such as "wounds and injuries" near the top, and more specific terms like "spinal cord injuries" near the bottom. The hierarchy of terms is known as a Tree. The Tree tool allows you to view any term in the context of the hierarchy. If a term appears in more than one "branch" of the Tree, the display will begin by showing the term in each of the branches. From there, you can browse through as much of the Tree as you wish, looking for terms to add to your search.

25. Permuted Index                                                                          back to top

When using this tool, enter ONE WORD to search. The Permuted Index tool gives you the ability to view index terms in a different way than looking at them in the Tree or Thesaurus. Many index terms are actually multi-word phrases like "wounds and injuries". It is possible that the single word you are interested in might be a part of more than one index term. The Permuted Index (also known as PTX) gives you a way to view all the index terms that have a particular word in them. For example, if you were interested in "spinal cord injuries", which you know to be a Subject Heading, you might enter "spinal" as an entry into the PTX. You would be shown a display of many terms that contain the word "spinal", including "anesthesia spinal," "ganglia, spinal" and "injections, spinal." Although all of these particular terms would also appear together in the Tree or Thesaurus display, other related terms, such as "spinal stenosis", will appear in the PTX display. Such terms would not appear with the food poisoning terms in the Tree or Thesaurus Display.

26. Scope Notes                                                                              back to top

A Scope Note contains information about the use of an index term. This information may be a simple definition of the term, or it may consist of very detailed instructions to the indexer on how to apply the term. Some of the detail may be in a form that is not easily understood by a non-indexer, but often there is very useful information that can be found by scanning a lengthy Scope Note.

27. Explode                                                                                     back to top 

• Because the standardized MeSH terms are arranged in hierarchical Trees and articles are indexed with only the most specific headings, a very powerful type of searching, called "exploding," is possible. Using the broad MeSH term "Spinal Cord Injuries," for example, would not necessarily retrieve articles indexed with the narrower term "Spinal Cord Compression", unless you "explode" the term "Spinal Cord Injuries."

• If a suitable term appears on the Mapping screen, click on that term. This will show you how your term is related to similar terms, which are broader or narrower than yours. If all of the narrower terms are of interest to you, click in the Explode box to the right of the broadest term in the list. (Click on the letter "i" to provide a "scope note" definition of a subject heading.) If only the specific term is useful, click in the Select box to the left of that term.

• Example: Spinal Cord Injuries is the broad term. Spinal Cord Compression is the more specific term. Exploding Spinal Cord Injuries will search for that term, as well as all the other more specific terms indented below it. Articles are indexed in MEDLINE using the most specific MeSH term available, so it is very important to select the correct level of specificity. If you want articles about Spinal Cord Injuries, you would miss most of them by selecting only the narrower term Spinal Cord Compression. Notice the significant difference in retrieval in the example shown below between the citations posted to Spinal Cord Injuries and those posted to Spinal Cord Compression. To avoid losing relevant citations, it is often best to search all of the terms in a tree. Clicking on Spinal Cord Injuries and clicking on the explode button will instruct the system to OR together the broader heading with all of the narrower terms indented under it.
  

28. Focus                                                                                         back to top

If you wish to only retrieve articles where the MeSH term you selected is the major point being discussed, click in the Focus box to the right of the term. However, this is not recommended for most searches unless the amount retrieved will likely be very large. Click on Continue to proceed to the next search step, choosing a subheading

29. Subheadings                                                                                back to top

Databases indexed with MeSH headings have a list of qualifiers, called Subheadings, which can be used to fine-tune or narrow a search. Subheadings tend to be general concepts such as "etiology" or "toxicology", which, when linked to index terms, give a very specific idea of what an article is about. For example, an article about the medical complications of Spinal Cord Injuries would be assigned the index term "spinal cord injuries" and the subheading "complications." In the document, the index term and subheading would display together, separated by a slash: "spinal cord injuries/co [Complications]". This tool allows you to view and select from all applicable subheadings for the specific term you enter. (Or click the Main Search Page button to cancel the mapping process, to include all subheadings and bypass this step)

• Click on the name of any subheading to see its definition.

• Select one or more subheadings using the checkbox, or click the Include All Subheadings checkbox for maximum retrieval.

• Related groups of subheadings are "pre-exploded" under several broad categories. Pre-exploded subheadings may be retrieved using the field name".XS." For example, the search "sn.xs." will retrieve all occurrences of the subheading for "statistics and numerical data" as well as all of its related subheadings. You can also use the Boolean operator AND with a subheading and subject heading, e.g., "spinal cord injuries/ and sn.xs," "spinal cord injuries" with ONLY the "statistics and numerical data" subheading.

• Using the pull-down menu at the top of the page, Combine your subheading selections with Boolean OR (to retrieve at least one of the individual terms in each document) or AND (to retrieval all in each document).

• Click Continue to perform your search and return to the Advanced Mode Main Search Page.  This search will not retrieve the exploded group of subheadings. Below are the categories and contents for each of the 20 exploded subheadings. Each entry is preceded by its two-character abbreviation. The first heading listed defines the category.

AE ADVERSE EFFECTS   po poisoning   to toxicity	AH ANATOMY & HISTOLOGY   ab abnormalities   bs blood supply   cy cytology   em embryology   ir innervation   pa pathology   ul ultrastructure	AN ANALYSIS   bl blood   cf cerebrospinal fluid   ip isolation & purification   ur urine
CH CHEMISTRY   aa analogs & derivatives   ai antagonists & inhibitors   cs chemical synthesis	CO COMPLICATIONS   sc secondary	CY CYTOLOGY   pa pathology   ul ultrastructure
DI DIAGNOSIS   pa pathology   ra radiography   ri radionuclide imaging   us ultrasonography	EM EMBRYOLOGY   ab abnormalities	EP EPIDEMIOLOGY   eh ethnology   mo mortality
ET ETIOLOGY   ci chemically induced   cn congenital   co complications   em embryology   ge genetics   im immunology   mi microbiology   ps parasitology   sc secondary   tm transmission	ME METABOLISM   bi biosynthesis   bl blood   cf cerebrospinal fluid   df deficiency   en enzymology   pk pharmocokinetics   ur urine	OG ORGANIZATION & ADMINISTRATION   ec economics   lj legislation & jurisprudence   ma manpower   sd supply & distribution   st standards   td trends   ut utilization
PD PHARMACOLOGY   ad administration & dosage   ae adverse effects   ct contraindications   du diagnostic use   pk pharmacokinetics   po poisoning   to toxicity	PH PHYSIOLOGY   bi biosynthesis   bl blood   cf cerebrospinal fluid   df deficiency   en enzymology   gd growth & development   ge genetics   im immunology   me metabolism   pk pharmacokinetics   pp physiopathology   se secretion   ur urine	SN STATISTICS & NUMERICAL DATA   eh ethnology   ep epidemiology   mo mortality
SU SURGERY   tr transplantation	TH THERAPY   dh diet therapy   dt drug therapy   nu nursing   pc prevention & control   rh rehabilitation   rt radiotherapy   su surgery   tr transplantation	TU THERAPEUTIC USE   ad administration & dosage   ae adverse effects   ct contraindications   po poisoning

30. Combine Terms/Create Sets                                                          back to top

When you click the "Combine" icon on the Main Search Page, you can create a new search set that represents the intersection (AND) or union (OR) of two or more of the previously created sets. You must have at least two sets in your search history to use the Combine command. Combining the key concepts in your search topic with the Boolean connectors OR, AND enables you to formulate your search statement in language that will be interpreted by the system as follows.  OR retrieves documents that discuss either concept, and is used to: connect synonyms or related concepts and increase retrieval. AND retrieves documents that discuss both concepts and is used to: restrict retrieval.

• Click the checkboxes under the "select" heading that represent the sets you want to combine. You must click at least two checkboxes.

• Choose OR or AND from the "combine selections with" menu. By combining two or more sets using OR, a new set will be created which contains all the documents in all the selected sets (with duplicates eliminated). This is also known as the union of the sets. By combining two or more sets using AND, a new set will be created which contains only those documents that the selected sets had in common (with duplicates eliminated). This is also known as the intersection of the sets.

• Click the Combine Searches button to perform the function you have selected and return to the Main Search Page. If you would like to cancel your Combine request, click the Main Search Page button.

• If you have formed two or more sets, you can enter your combine command directly on the command line. For example, if you would like to combine sets #1 and #2, you can use the AND, OR, or NOT operators. Your statement will be processed from left to right, unless you specify another order via parentheses.

Examples:

1 and 2 and 3

1 not 4

1 and (2 or 3)

4 not (dogs or cats)

(birds and bees) or (dogs and cats)

(Spinal Fractures or Spinal Cord Injuries) and Intracheal Intubation

Note: items in parenthesis are processed first

31. Limit                                                                                          back to top

You can limit your search statement prior to clicking on the Perform Search button by selecting one of more of the following limits:
Local Holdings -- journals held at the Calder Memorial Library
Full Text -- full text journals from the Core Biomedical Collection I, Core Biomedical Collection II, Ovid Nursing Collection
Human -- articles dealing with human subjects; may also include animal studies
English -- articles in English only
Reviews -- review articles only
Abstracts -- articles with abstracts (can include foreign language articles with English abstracts)
From: ____ To:____ (publication years) You can use the scrolling list boxes to indicate specific years or a range of years.

To limit previously created sets in the Search History window, click the Limit Button and follow the instructions on your screen. After you have entered all key concepts, you can limit your search results by variables such as gender, age, year, publication type, language, etc. Click on the set you want to limit and click on the Limit Set Icon. A list of available options will appear. Click one or more limits and click the "Limit Search" button . Items without scrolling list boxes (male, female) will be applied immediately. If you select an item with a scrolling list box (age groups, publication types), a screen will display with another list of limits from which to choose. For example, publication types will display a large number of options, such as clinical trial, meta analysis, randomized controlled trial, review, etc. If you apply one limit at a time, beginning with the most important one, you can undo them if they become too restrictive.

32. Title and Citation Display                                                            back to top

The Title Display appears immediately below the general limits on the main search page. Scroll down to view the titles or click the corresponding "Display" hypertext link to view retrievals from any of your search sets. Additional fields may be displayed by selecting the hypertext link Complete Reference and where available, Abstract and Full Text links. Select Records by clicking on the box in front of the record from the Title Display or by clicking on the box at the top of the page from the Citation Display.

33. Print, Email and Save from the Citation Manager                         back to top

The Citation Manager is located at the end of every Title Display Page. Make selections from the options provided to print, email, or save. To Print, first select Display from the Action column and then select Print from the browser software. To Email documents, select Email from the Action column. Input a valid Internet email address at the option Email Citations to:.  You may enter more than one email address. To Save documents, select Save from the Action column. This will invoke your browser's save utility.

34. Logoff.                                                                                       back to top

Click the Logoff button when you are done searching. You should logoff to prevent unnecessary use of an Ovid software license.