A guide for medical information searches of bibliographic databases - psychiatric research as an example

Information overload, demanding work with strict time limits, and the extensive number of medical bibliographic databases and other research sources all underline the importance of being able to search for up-to-date information effectively. Medical journals play a key role in providing access to the latest information in medicine and health and bibliographic databases play an important role in accessing them. This paper sheds light on the role of the information search process and discusses how to approach key medical bibliographic databases and information sources, using the field of psychiatry as an example. Because of an increasing amount of information, the constant renewal within the discipline and a variety of services available, those seeking information must precisely define what kind of information they are looking for and from which sources the information needed may be found.