Searching the Literature

Before you start your research project it is essential to find out what is already
known about the research topic and to read any relevant work that is out there.
As MI pharmacists, the need to develop advanced skills in retrieving, assimilating
and interpreting published work comes with the territory. But, at risk of teaching
grandma to suck eggs, we will highlight some pointers in the context of pharmacy
practice research.

Why review the literature?

 to refine your research question and objectives

 to highlight research possibilities you have overlooked

 to discover whether explicit recommendations for further research into

your topic have been made

 to help avoid inappropriate repetition of other people’s work

 to gain insight into current opinions

 to investigate appropriate research strategies and methodologies

Where to find pharmacy practice research

In the past pharmacists have not been renowned for getting their research
published; fortunately that situation is changing. Today we are publishing more
articles and they are being published not only in pharmacy journals but also in
highly respected, mainstream journals. That means that you will need to do a
broad search of medical bibliographic databases, such as Medline, as well as
pharmacy orientated systems, like Pharm-line and International Pharmaceutical
Abstracts.

1. UKMi website
This website contains a list of published and ongoing research concerned
with Medicines Information Services in the MI Research to Date section.

2. Pharm-line
The Pharm-line database is a good starting point if you are trying to find
pharmacy practice research, particularly if it has been carried out in the
UK. The database includes abstracts of articles on pharmacy practice and
the clinical use of drugs from over 100 major English language
pharmaceutical and medical journals. You can find a list of the journals
covered here. All medicines information centres in the UK should have
access to Pharm-line and to the user guide that gives detailed search
instructions.

3. Embase, Medline and Cochrane

Start with Embase before moving onto Medline. This is because Embase
covers a much larger number of biomedical journals. In particular, it is
more comprehensive for pharmaceutical, European and drug-related
journals. For example many articles in the Pharmaceutical Journal are
included. However, although most NHS sites can access Embase for free, if
it is not available in your area, then it is very expensive to buy.
 The Cochrane Library has some content relevant to pharmacy practice
research (e.g. systematic review of the literature on training health
professionals on smoking cessation) so shouldn’t be overlooked.

4. International Pharmaceutical Abstracts

The International Pharmaceutical Abstracts database produced by the
American Society of Hospital Pharmacists (ASHP) offers comprehensive
coverage of world pharmacy literature from 1970, including pharmacy
practice and education. The scope of the database ranges from clinical
pharmacy to legislation, sociology, economics, ethics and information
processing and literature. Coverage includes abstracts from state
pharmacy journals, ASHP meetings (from 1988), with the records updated
monthly. International Pharmaceutical Abstracts is searchable through
various interfaces, including online. The biggest drawback to use of this
database has always been its relatively high cost. Experienced pharmacists
in regional medicines information centres will search International
Pharmaceutical Abstracts online occasionally, especially for those enquiries
that specifically relate to pharmacy practice research. Depending on how
you want to access the database it can be possible to pay for blocks of
access time. Contact the supplier for more details.

5. Hand searching
You may also need to search by hand through previous reports of research
symposia and conferences such as those organised by UKCPA, RPSGB and
the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists. There is no denying that
hand searching is extremely tedious but it can sometimes bring useful
literature to light (it’s not so many years since literature searching of any
kind was time-consuming and tedious!).

6. Unpublished and ongoing research

It is also worth trying to locate any unpublished or ongoing research; you
can check out the Department of Health’s National Research Findings
Register or the National Research Register. In addition we have included a
section in this site to detail research projects that are ongoing in
medicines information in the MI Research to Date section.

7. CINAHL
The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature has an
emphasis on nursing. However, about 35% of the records refer to allied
health disciplines, such as health education or occupational therapy.
Besides journal articles, CINAHL also covers books, conference
proceedings, dissertations and standards of professional practice.

8. When all else fails……..

If you still haven’t come up with much and you begin to feel a bit
desperate then it might be helpful to put a question on the MI discussion
network; this will allow you to find out whether any MI colleagues are
aware of research (maybe local, unpublished) that has already been done
on your topic and possibly to gauge current practice in other parts of the
country.

Appraising Research Literature

Much has been written on the critical evaluation of research literature and this
site does not intend to duplicate what has been written already. This section is
not intended for those involved in formal critical of the literature as part of their
role on drugs committees, for example. Use the following sources to guide you
through your systematic appraisal of the literature for your project:

1. Online resources

 For those just starting out, the UKMi Training Workbook contains a short
chapter on the critical appraisal of clinical trials. Access via The Manpower and
Training section of www.ukmi.nhs.uk

 The Public Health Resource Unit’s Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP)
and Evidence-based Practice site at http://www.phru.nhs.uk/ provides very
useful appraisal tools for different types of research study as well as links to
different sources of research evidence.

 The University of Sheffield’s School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR)

site is also an excellent platform for jumping to many useful critical appraisal
resources.

 The sites of Bandolier and Clinical Evidence, although registration may be

required for the latter.

Also try the following articles;

 Using evidence to guide practice. (2005) MeReC Briefing 30, National

Prescribing Centre.

 Using evidence to guide practice - supplement. (2005). MeReC Briefing 30(S),

National Prescribing Centre.

 Jones, C. How to appraise a clinical paper critically. Pharmaceutical Journal

2002;268:875-877.

 Pegler S, Underhill, J. Evaluating promotional material from industry: an

evidence-based approach. Pharmaceutical Journal 2005;274:271-274.

 Underhill J, Pegler S. Dealing with information overload: application of

evidence at point of care. Pharmaceutical Journal 2005;274:148-150.

2. Other resources

The following textbooks are excellent for all researchers;

 Greenhalgh T. How to read a paper. 2nd ed. London: BMJ Publishing Group;
2001.

 Sackett DL, Richardson WS, Rosenberg WMC, Haynes RB. Evidence-Based

Medicine: How to practice and teach EBM. London: Churchill-Livingstone,
1996.