Evans Whitaker, MD, MLIS
Norris Medical Library
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-9130
(323) 442-1128
ewhitake@usc.edu


Please feel free to contact me (or any of the
librarians at Norris Medical Library) with
any information questions you have!
Contact information
 Business Cards
 Norris Website (http://www.usc.edu/nml )
▪ Library information
▪ Staff Directory
1.
1.
2.
Norris Medical Library – Access
and Overview of Resources (5 minutes)
MEDLINE (30 minutes)
Miscellany and Questions (the remainder)


Proxy server (don’t use VPN)
(http://libproxy.usc.edu/login )
Log in with USC email information
 User name (email address up to @)
 Password

Bookmark Norris Library homepage
 Start information hunting here as you will have full
text access to everything USC purchases


“Everything” you need in one place
If there are other things you want in this
location … let me know

If you can’t get to something you want …
 Let us know and we will fix it for you
 (We have one person at the library devoted to
fixing links to publisher’s websites)
•
Multiple versions
of this database
•
Same content but
different look
•
•
Ovid = PubMed
(= PubGet)
Articles are added to
PubMed by
publishers
…then moved to
MEDLINE as they are
indexed (have MeSH
terms added) by NLM
PubMed
(database)
> 19.5million
MEDLINE and PubMed
Clarifying confusing
nomenclature
What is MeSH?
PubMed (search engine) is
the tool used to search in
PubMed and MEDLINE
MEDLINE (database)
> 17.8 Million




Most important single concept of today!!
A “dictionary” in which you look up the best
words to use in MEDLINE searches
Using MeSH in searches increases the number
of relevant articles found by 40-60%
Limitations:
 New concepts, procedures, drugs may not have a
MeSH term
▪ Use a Keyword (= any search term you choose that is not a
MeSH term)
 Takes time for new articles to be “indexed” for
MEDLINE
▪ Can miss the newest articles

PubMed can be considered as two databases
in one
 PubMed/MEDLINE – A database of information
about journal articles
 MeSH – A dictionary of terms to use in MEDLINE

The most effective searching is
 Finding the term in MeSH
 Search with that term in MEDLINE

Three ways to access MEDLINE at USC:
 PubMed (USC’s version, PubMed@USC includes
links to USC holdings)
▪ Freely available
▪ Now teaching Keck students this version of MEDLINE
 OvidSP (includes links to USC holdings)
▪ USC pays Ovid for access
▪ Residents and students may not have access after USC
 PubGet.com (see Clinician Portal for information)

Allows you to save you work and get back to
it!
 Save your searches
▪ PubMed send you new articles about the topic as they
come out
 Save good articles in Collections

Let’s do it


Does selenium supplementation prevent
prostate cancer?
Concepts:
 Prostate Cancer
 Selenium Supplements

We want articles with both concepts
 Would you combine the concepts with AND or OR?
 AND

See one … watch a search in PubMed

Things you can do now:
 Look at full-text copy of articles
▪ Print
▪ Save
▪ Email
 Add to Clipboard
 Save to Collections
 Save your search
▪ Have new articles about your topic sent to you
Prevention of DVT in total knee replacement?
Is oxygen inhalation therapy or triptans more effective
in treating acute cluster headache?
 In juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, would you best treat
with valproate or would you choose another
anticonvulsant medication?
 Is Guillain-Barre syndrome best treated with plasma
exchange or intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG)
therapy?
 Are steroids useful as part of treatment of septic shock
 Are steroids useful as part of treatment of bacterial
meningitis?
 Do SSRIs increase risk of GI bleeding?


Too many results
Too few results
MeSH terms Add another MeSH
term
Remove a MeSH term
Subheadings Add subheadings
Remove subheadings
Major
Mesh to Majr
Majr to MeSH
Limits
Add limits
Remove limits




Use MeSH if available
3 or fewer MeSH terms are (usually) enough
Focus the disease or condition
Subheadings
 3 or fewer subheadings per MeSH
 Don’t use unless they match perfectly

Explode
 Leave MeSH terms exploded

Electronic table of contents (e.g., JAMA)
 PubGet.com

Saved work in MEDLINE:
 MyNCBI and/or
 Ovid Personal Account



UpToDate - ”What’s New”
Faculty of 1000 – Medicine
Journal Watch

Norris homepage


If you strike out in MEDLINE…
Searches full text of article
 Very sensitive – finds the needle
 Not specific – gives you the haystack too

GoogleScholar – set Advanced Preferences for
USC full text


Please feel free to contact me (or any of the
librarians at Norris Library) with any
information questions you have!
Norris Website (http://www.usc.edu/nml)