Specialized Databases
Revised by Micah Walsleben MLS
Original by: Dawn Kruse Field, MSIS
Milagros De Jesus Rivera, MLS
June 1, 2014
Goal
The goal of this module is to increase students’
knowledge of five specialized databases
offered through TTUHSC Libraries.
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Objectives
• The student will:
 identify which databases are most useful
for their specialty or information needs.
 learn about the subjects covered by the databases.
 understand database features.
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Introduction
• Why use databases?




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Authoritative
Access to full–text articles
Structured and organized
Geared to specific medical specialties at TTUHSC
4
Specialized Databases - Definition
Specialized database: a collection of focused
information (data) on a specific field of study, or,
subjects indexed or arranged for ease and speed
of searching and retrieval.
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Specialized Databases - PubMed
• 23+ million citations from biomedical literature, 1946 to
current year
• Life sciences with a concentration on biomedicine
• Clinical Queries (see module on Evidence-Based Practice
for more information)
• My NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information)
to save and filter
• PubMed for mobile
• Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) or Keyword searching
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Specialized Databases – Scopus
• Worldwide coverage
• 21,000+ peer-reviewed journals
• 50+ million records – Over half from 1995; and some
records as old as 1823
• Scientific, Technical, Medical and Social Sciences
Literature including Arts & Humanities
• Web pages and patents
• Citation Tracker and Journal Analyzer
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Specialized Databases – Embase
• EMTREE (thesaurus) includes all MeSH terms
• Comprehensive drug searching
• Clinical and scientific topics as well as those on
pharmacoeconomics, pharmaceutical vehicles,
additives and biotechnology.
• 8,300+ peer-reviewed journals
• Biomedical, clinical, and regulatory fields
• 28+ million indexed records from 1947 forward
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Specialized Databases – CINAHL
• Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature
• Indexing for 5,000+ journals
• Of which 760+ journals are full–text
• 4+ million records
• Full-text coverage dating back to 1937
• Subject coverage: Nursing and 14 allied health specialties
• Evidence-Based Care Sheets and Research Instruments
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Specialized Databases – Micromedex
• Drug resource
• Fully–referenced, unbiased content covering dosage,
pharmacokinetics, cautions, interactions, comparative efficacy,
clinical applications as well as labeled and off-labeled indications
• International, FDA-approved, and non-prescription preparations
• Ingredient information for hundreds of thousands of commercial,
pharmaceutical, and biological substances
• Available as a mobile application
• Patient CareNotes
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Databases ranked by subject
coverage
Scopus
CINAHL
Embase
PubMed
(SciVerse)
Allied Health
Biomedical
Sciences
Medicine
Nursing
Pharmacy
Micromedex
2nd
3rd
X
1st choice
X
3rd
1st choice
2nd
X
X
1st choice
2nd
4th
2nd
3rd
3rd
3rd
X
2nd
1st choice
X
X
X
1st choice
Note: x = may still be useful but not first choice
Which would be your first choice for your subject area?
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Subjects covered
Identify the
databases with
subject
coverage for
your specialty
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Database Features
PubMed
Which
features will
be useful to
you?
1
2
3
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Books
Calculators
Citation
Tracker
Clinical
Queries
Drugs/
Chemicals
e-pub (Ahead
of Print) also
called Article
in Press
EvidenceBased Care
Sheets
(Patient
CareNotes)
Images
Journal
Analyzer
Journals
Nursing
Dissertations
Patents
PeerReviewed
Journals
Research
Instruments
Scopus
(SciVerse)
Embase
X
CINAHL
Micromedex
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Some
Some
Some
Some
X
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Review point #1
• In which databases are e-Pub (ahead of print)
articles available?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Scopus
Embase
CINAHL
PubMed
Select all that are applicable.
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Answer #1
• Answer is: a, b, and d
From the table, PubMed, Scopus, and Embase show
that they cover e-Pub materials.
• Why is this important?
Currency as e-Pub materials are the most recent
publications available.
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Features continued
1
2
3
Email Alerts
Export Option
Help Button
Personal
Account
Size of
Database
4
Update
Frequency
5
Years Covered
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PubMed
Scopus
(SciVerse)
Embase
CINAHL
Micromedex
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Approx.
5,400+
journals,
20+
million
records
21,000+
titles,
20,000+
peerreviewed
journals
28+ million
indexed
records,
8,300+
current,
mostly
peerreviewed
journals
4+
million
records,
5,000+
journals
2,300 drugs
featuring side
by side
comparison
Daily
Daily
Daily
Weekly
Quarterly
1946 current
1823 current
1947 current
1937 current
Current
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Review point #2
• Which database is specific for drug
information?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
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Scopus
CINAHL
Embase
Micromedex
PubMed
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Answer #2
• Answer is: d. Micromedex
• Micromedex differs from other databases
included in this module in that it does not
focus on article retrieval, but instead focuses
on drug information dissemination.
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Features continued
1 Abstract
Advanced
2 Searching
3 Basic Search
Boolean
4 Searching
5 Citation Only
6
7
8
9
10
11
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Cited by:
(Invisible
Network)
Full-text
Keyword
Searching
Limits
(Limiters)
Search by:
(Author, Title,
Subject/
Keyword)
SmartPhone
Availability
Thesaurus
Searching
PubMed
Scopus
(SciVerse)
Embase
CINAHL
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Some
Some
Some
Some
Micromedex
X
X
Some
Some
Some
Some
X
X
X
X
X
Some
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Keyword only
X
X
X
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Review point #3
Which database has the “Cited by”
(Invisible Network) feature?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
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Micromedex
Embase
Scopus
PubMed
CINAHL
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Answer #3
• Answer is: c. Scopus
• Scopus sorts citations according to the
number of times the article has been cited by
other publications. This demonstrates each
article’s impact factor and identifies
“landmark” articles and their authors.
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Types of Publications
1 Case Reports
Clinical Drug
2 Trials
3 Clinical Trials
Cochrane
4 Reviews
Cohort Studies/
5 Analyses
PubMed
Scopus
(SciVerse)
Embase
CINAHL
Micromedex
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Conference
6 Proceedings
7 Dissertations
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
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Government
Publications
Legal Cases
Theses
Meta-analyses
Practice
Guidelines
Randomized
Controlled
Trials
Reviews
Systematic
Reviews
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
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Journal Publication Types — Definition
Publication types: describes the type of material
the journal article represents
• for example: Review, Clinical Trial, Letter,
Meta-analysis, Editorial
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Review point #4
• You are assigned to find an article on a certain
subject but it must be a cohort study. Which
databases use that article/publication type as a
limiter? Choose the best answer.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
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Scopus, CINAHL, Embase, and Micromedex
CINAHL, Scopus and Micromedex
PubMed, Scopus, Embase and CINAHL
PubMed, Embase and Micromedex
Scopus, PubMed, CINAHL and Micromedex
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Answer #4
• Answer is: c. PubMed, Scopus, Embase and
CINAHL
• Article/publication type also allows the searcher
to identify evidence-based materials.
 for example: meta-analysis, systematic review, etc.
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Final Points…Summarize
• Specialized databases provide tools needed to
conduct relevant and efficient research.
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Review Questions
Decide which database is most appropriate for
each scenario and answer the questions.
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Exercise #1
• As a nursing student, which database would
be the first choice to find peer-reviewed
articles on the treatment of hypertension?
Please choose the best answer.




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A. Micromedex
B. CINAHL
C. Scopus
D. None of the above
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Answer for #1
B. CINAHL – this database focuses on
nursing literature.
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Exercise #2
• Which database would be the first choice to
find the prophylactic dosing of Lovenox prior
to abdominal surgery?
Please choose the best answer.




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A. Micromedex
B. CINAHL
C. Scopus
D. None of the above
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Answer for #2
A. Micromedex – focuses on drug
information with very specific criteria
about drugs and their use.
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Exercise #3
• Which database(s) indexes for meta-analysis or
systematic review articles on various
subjects?Please choose the best answer.




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A. PubMed
B. CINAHL
C. Scopus
D. All of the above
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Answer for #3
D. All of the above
All of the databases presented in this
module can be searched and are
appropriate for locating systematic reviews
or meta-analysis. Start with the database
that is the first choice in your field.
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References
•
•
•
•
•
•
About Scopus | Sciverse. Retrieved
fromhttp://www.info.sciverse.com/scopus/about/
Clinical Queries. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/clinical
Cochrane Reviews | the Cochrane Collaboration. Retrieved from
http://www.cochrane.org/cochrane-reviews
Embase. Retrieved from http://www.embase.com/home
Embase | comprehensive coverage. Retrieved from
http://embase.com/info/what-is-embase/coverage
MICROMEDEX® 2.0. Retrieved from
http://www.micromedexsolutions.com/micromedex2/librarian
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References continued
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Legal case. Retrieved from http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/legal+case
Micromedex 2.0. Retrieved from
http://www.micromedex.com/support/documentation/index.html
Information Today, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.infotoday.com/
Mosby's medical dictionary. (2009). (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier.
National Cancer Institute - comprehensive cancer information. Retrieved from
http://www.cancer.gov/
National Library of Medicine – National Institutes of Health. Retrieved from
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/
ODLIS: Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science. Retrieved from
http://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_A.aspx
PubMed home. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
PubMed tutorial – glossary. Retrieved from
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/disted/pubmedtutorial/glossary.html
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References continued
•
•
•
•
ScienceDirect – home. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/
Scopus - document search. Retrieved from http://www.scopus.com/home.url
University of Mississippi Libraries. (July 2004). Library of Congress subject heading
guide., 1-7.
User's guides to the medical literature: Essentials of evidence-based clinical
practice. (2008). Guyatt G., Drummond R., Meade M. & Cook D.(Eds.), (2nd ed.).
New York, NY: McGraw Hill Companies.
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Glossary
• Abstract
 An overview or summary of an article, book, or other
publication.
• Advanced Searching
 Allows users to create a targeted search using field codes,
proximity operators, or Boolean operators, to narrow the
scope of the search. (Scopus - document search).
• Articles in Press (ePub)
 Documents that have been accepted for publication, but
have not yet been assigned to a journal issue. (ScienceDirect
home page overview, 2008).
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Glossary
• Basic Search
 Search the article title, abstract, or keywords for the terms
needed.
• Boolean Searching
 These operators (AND, OR, and NOT) will help narrow or broaden
the search to better express the terms and their relationships
needed to retrieve the information.
• Case Report
 A detailed report of the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of an
individual patient. Case reports also contain some demographic
information about the patient (for example: age, gender,
ethnicity). (National Cancer Institute - comprehensive cancer
information).
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Glossary
• Citation Only
 Usually includes only the author, article title, journal name,
page numbers, volume, issue, and publication date.
The abstract is not included.
• Citation Tracker
 Allows searchers to review citation counts for a particular
author's work and to present a Citation Overview table
broken down by individual years and brief article titles
for
the years the user has designated in a date range field.
(Information today, Inc.).
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Glossary
• Cited by
 A link on the page that generates a results list with records
that contain a reference to the original record.
(ScienceDirect home page overview. 2008)
• Clinical Drug Trials (Drug Trial)
 The process of determining an adequate and effective
therapeutic dose or duration of treatment of a specific drug
for a particular disease state.
(Mosby's medical dictionary. 2009)
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Glossary
• Clinical Queries
 A user-friendly search tool in PubMed that allows clinicians to
quickly and easily search for relevant clinical literature on
etiology, prognosis, diagnosis, and therapy of diseases and
diagnostics. (Clinical queries)
• Cochrane Reviews
 Systematic reviews of primary research in human health care
and health policy. They investigate the effects of interventions
for prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation.
(Cochrane reviews | The Cochrane collaboration)
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Glossary
• Cohort Studies/Analysis
 This is an investigation in which a group of individuals who do
not have evidence of an outcome or interest but who are
exposed to the putative cause is compared with a concurrent
group of individuals who are also free of the outcome but not
exposed to the putative cause. (User's guides to the medical
literature: Essentials of evidence-based clinical practice. 2008).
• Conference Proceedings
 A collection of papers delivered at a conference or a summary
of the conference.
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Glossary
• Dissertations, Doctoral
 A dissertation or thesis is a document that presents the
author's research, findings and is submitted in support of
candidature for a degree or professional qualification.
• Email Alerts
 New articles that match personalized specific subject criteria
are automatically electronically delivered.
• Evidence-Based Care Sheets (Patient CareNotes)
 Contain summaries or treatment for specific conditions that
include references to published studies and other sources of
supporting documentation.
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Glossary
• Export Option
 A feature that enables researchers to export citations, results
lists, and other documents directly from PubMed, Scopus,
Embase, and CINAHL to RefWorks, EndNote, or other citation
managers.
• Full-Text Article
 The entire record, typically most of the following items:
abstract, outline, full–text with hypertext links, images, tables,
and bibliographic references, is listed.
• Government Publications
 Documents published by US government agencies.
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Glossary
• Journals
 Sources for current information in disciplines that publish new
research and review articles.
• Journal Analyzer
 Mathematical algorithm used by some databases to measure
journal value and reputation.
• Keyword Searching
 Research method that searches for the term in the title or the
description of the item.
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Glossary
• Legal Cases
 The evidence and testimony compiled and organized by one
party in a lawsuit to prove that party's version of the
controversy at a trial in court.
(Legal case.)
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Glossary
• Limit(s), (Limiters) or Filter(s)
 A feature of a well-designed database that allows the user to
employ various parameters to restrict the retrieval of entries
containing the terms included in the statement. Limits may be
set before a search is executed, after results are displayed, or
both, depending on the design of the system. Limiters are not
standardized but typically include publication date, material
type, language, full-text, and peer-review information.
(ODLIS: Online dictionary for library and information science)
 Master’s Thesis
 See Dissertations, Doctoral.
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Glossary
• Meta-analysis
 A statistical technique for quantitatively combining the results
of multiple studies measuring the same outcome into a single
pooled or summary estimate. (User's guides to the medical
literature: Essentials of evidence-based clinical practice, 2008)
• Nursing Dissertations
 Written document or thesis, especially investigation or
research on a specialized topic, submitted in partial fulfillment
or as a requirement in a higher level nursing program.
See also Dissertation, Doctoral.
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Glossary
• Patents
 Legal documents issued by the U.S. government, or the
government of another country, in response to a formal
application process in which the inventor or originator of a new
product or process is granted the exclusive right to manufacture,
use, and sell it for a designated period of time. (ODLIS: Online
dictionary for library and information science)
• Peer-reviewed Journal
 Contains articles submitted by authors for publication which are
evaluated by a group of their contemporary experts in the field.
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Glossary
• Personal Account
 Most databases offer registration to create personal accounts
that allow for saving searches, results, search strategies, and
for creating email alerts.
• Practice Guideline(s)
 Systematically developed statements or recommendations to
assist practitioners and patient decisions about appropriate
health care for specific clinical circumstances.
(User's guides to the medical literature: Essentials of evidencebased clinical practice, 2008)
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Glossary
• Randomized Controlled Trials
 Experiments in which individuals are randomly allocated to
receive or not receive an experimental diagnostic, preventive,
therapeutic, or palliative procedure and then followed to
determine the effect of the intervention.
(User's guides to the medical literature: Essentials of evidencebased clinical practice, 2008)
• Research Instruments
 Tools used to evaluate research data.
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Glossary
• Review
 A general term for articles that summarize the results of more
than one primary study. Differentiated from Systematic
Reviews.
(User's guides to the medical literature: Essentials of evidencebased clinical practice. 2008)
• Search by: (Author, Title, Subject, Keyword)
 Locate items/information using specific author, words in title,
subject headings or keywords.
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Glossary
• SmartPhone Availability
 Some databases allow users to download resources to a
mobile device. Examples include the iPhone, iPod Touch,
Android, BlackBerry, and other Smartphones.
This turns the mobile device into a mobile tool that
provides
quick access to medical information.
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Glossary
• Systematic Reviews
 The identification, selection, appraisal, and summary of
primary studies addressing a focused clinical question using
methods to reduce the likelihood of bias.
(User's guides to the medical literature: Essentials of evidencebased clinical practice, 2008)
• Thesaurus Searching
 The use of subject headings to do research. Typically the term
is defined. Controlled vocabularies and thesauri offer
additional subject headings for searching: CINAHL headings,
PubMed’s MeSH, and Embase’s EMTREE.
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Glossary
• Update Frequency
 Interval at which a database citations, journals or other serial
publication receive the latest updates on health or other
topics. Some databases and/or journals can be updated daily,
weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, yearly,
as needed, continuously, or in other timings.
• Years Covered
 Journal publication dates available in a database.
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