Searching the scientific literature.

Area of Science:

• Information Science
• Bibliometrics
• Medical Informatics

Background:

• Effective literature reviews are crucial for scientific research.
• Identifying relevant articles efficiently is a common challenge for researchers.
• Multiple databases exist, each with unique strengths for literature searching.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and compare three major literature searching strategies.
• To illustrate the practical application of these strategies using a sample research question.
• To guide researchers in selecting appropriate databases for their needs.

Main Methods:

• Comparative review of three prominent literature databases: Index Medicus/Medline, Science Citation Index/SciSearch, and Excerpta Medica/EMBASE.
• Demonstration of search techniques within each database.
• Application of strategies to a specific, illustrative research question.

Main Results:

• Each database offers distinct advantages for literature retrieval.
• The choice of database impacts the comprehensiveness and focus of search results.
• A systematic approach using these tools enhances the identification of relevant literature.

Conclusions:

• Researchers can optimize literature searches by understanding and utilizing different database functionalities.
• Strategic database selection is key to efficient and thorough literature reviews.
• The discussed methods provide a framework for robust scientific information retrieval.