For several years the Illingworth Library has provided
literature search training consisting of one to one sessions lasting about 1
hour – just ring up and book. Additionally we can also do literature searches
for you or alongside you. Last year we did 70+ searches particularly in our
work supporting PCCU and Surgery and we
have already done over 40 this year since April.
We regularly do searches to help inform the care of current patients; as background
for developing guidelines or auditing current practice and also to help staff
undertaking further study.We have done searches for Allied Health Professionals,
Consultants, Nurses, Scientists and many others. We have searched for topics ranging
from Appendectomies to Mouthwashes. We start with the Health Databases
available via NHS Evidence and then widen the search to look at other resources
as necessary.
We encourage people to learn how to search effectively for
themselves but as we are conducting searches regularly it may sometimes be more
efficient to use our service. So if you
are short of time or your skills are rusty perhaps we can help.
Some excellent feedback we had recently puts the case
perfectly
“I had 2 clinical
questions recently that no textbook was giving me an easy answer to and after a
quick email within a few working days I had both an extensive literature search
and downloaded articles that perfectly answered my queries.
When I first started I almost felt that asking their help was both lazy and an
imposition; this could not be further from the point. So, at the risk of
overwhelming them .... get in touch. I'm sure they can be of help.”
Sometimes people will do a search themselves and then ask us
to do the same search – this can be useful both to confirm that they haven’t
missed anything but also as we all have our own ways of approaching a search we
might sometimes pick up different results.
There is no charge for the literature searching service but
you will be asked to spend a couple of minutes filling in an online feedback
form 4-6 weeks after the search to help us keep our service relevant and
useful.
