Developing a code of practice for literature searching in health sciences: a project description

Libraries have provided mediated search services for more than forty years without a practice standard to guide the execution of searches, training of searchers, or evaluation of search performance. A pan-Canadian group of librarians completed a study of the literature on mediated search practices from 2014-2017 as a first step in addressing this deficit.

We used a three-phase, six-part content analysis process to examine and analyze published guidance on literature searching. Card sorting, Delphi methods, and an online questionnaire were then used to validate our findings and build a code of practice.

Our code of practice for mediated searching lists eighty-five search tasks arranged in performance order, within five progressive levels of search complexity. A glossary of 150 search terms supports the code of practice.

The research literature on mediated search methods is sparse and fragmented, lacking currency and a shared vocabulary. A code of practice for mediated searching will provide clarity in terminology, approach, and methods. This code of practice will provide a unified and convenient reference for training a new hire, upholding standards of search service delivery, or educating the next wave of health library professionals.