Course Information
Descriptive Information
Title: Searching Skills
Category: Searching Skills
Description: A 90 minute, interactive course introducing principles and techniques for planning and carrying out an effective in-depth, reproducible search of healthcare literature.
What does this course cover?
In this course you will learn how to develop and use a strategy for your literature search, and discover techniques that can make your search more effective across different databases. This course will look at defining your search question, how to identify the key concepts within a question and the relevant alternative terms, different principles and techniques for searching free text and thesaurus terms, and how to combine your search terms using Boolean logic. A range of different databases that may be appropriate for your search will be introduced, and resources will be signposted to guide you in using these different search tools. Further support with using specific search tools and systems will be offered following the course.
Who is this course for?
Any member of NHS staff wanting to carry out in-depth, reproducible searches of published healthcare literature.
This course is suitable for those who are completely new to searching healthcare databases, as well as those who want to refresh knowledge and experience not used since university! For staff who are already confident in planning search strategies and using a range of search techniques, but would like support in using a specific database or tool, a 1-1 appointment may be more suitable.
This course is particularly useful for staff undertaking academic study and wanting to learn how to carry out effective literature searches for assignments. It can also support staff involved in research or service development to be able to create effective search strategies to prove that their projects are underpinned by evidence. For those wishing to learn more about how to find and access healthcare information in a less formal way, our sessions 'Introduction to the NHS Knowledge and Library Hub' and 'Getting the best out of OpenAthens' may be more appropriate.
Course Outline: Not supplied
Time / Date Information
Start Date: 05/06/2024
Duration: 10:00 - 11:30
Book by Date (Deadline): 03/05/2024
Location Information
Venue: Online via MS Teams
Staff Information
Tutor: Ryan Ford