LITERATURE REVIEW

& LITERATURE
SEARCH

RESEARCH METHODS WORKSHOP FOR PGS

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY MEDICINE
ESIC MEDICAL COLLEGE & SSH,
HYDERABAD, TELANGANA
LITERATURE REVIEW

What it is
Scientific account of what has already been published on a
specific topic

What it is not
Description or summary of all published information
LITERATURE REVIEW: ORG SEARCH

Develop
questions
Identify for further
lacunae research
Synthesize
results
Organize
Information
LITERATURE REVIEW :PROCESS

1. Searching for information

Scan the literature efficiently using manual or computerized
methods to identify a set of potentially useful articles and books
2. Critically appraising the literature
The ability to apply principles of analysis to identify those studies
which are unbiased and valid.
INFORMATION RETRIEVAL

Identifying, a subset of documents whose content

is relevant to the researcher, within a large
document collection
Database organization
Structure of query
PLACES TO SEARCH
General Info HON certified sites, Web search
engines

Specific query Pubmed/Scopus/G Scholar

Archived full text articles Free open access, Fee based from
libraries ( Clinical Key,Uptodate,etc)

Systematic Reviews/ Meta-

analysis/ EBMs Cochrane Library/Map of Medicine
LITERATURE SEARCH

Aim
How to use PubMed
AIM

Time saving
Restrict absolute number titles
Increase number relevant titles

Reduce Numbers Needed to Read

PUBMED: WHAT IS IT?

PubMed is a free database accessing the MEDLINE database

of citations, abstracts and some full text articles on life sciences
and biomedical topics.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/pubmed.html
PUBMED: WHAT IS IN IT?

As of 10 Feb 2023 ~ over 35 million citations for

biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals,
and online books.
Different languages
SEARCH STRATEGY IN PUBMED
Use knowledge, logic and creativity
Start with good Research Question
Population
Determinant/ Exposure
Outcome

Have several terms & synonyms for all

Be aware: UK / US spelling
SEARCH STRATEGY
Search #1: Population OR synonyms
Search #2: Determinant OR synonyms
Search #3: Outcome OR synonyms

Search #4: Combine #1, #2 and #3

Population (#1) AND Determinant (#2) AND Outcome (#3)
 Population Determinant/ Outcome
Exposure

term term term

Synonym 1 OR Synonym 1 Synonym 1

OR OR

Synonym 2 Synonym 2 Synonym 2

Synonym 3 Synonym 3

AND AND
 AND

BOOLEAN
OPERATORS

 OR

Renal Failure
 NOT
Renal Failure
HOW TO SEARCH IN PUBMED?

Use ‘Title/ Abstract’ in search builder, under Advanced Search

tab in Pubmed

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
RESEARCH QUESTION
Does renal impairment increase mortality risk in Type 2
Diabetes Mellitus?

Population: Type 2 DM
Determinant: Renal impairment
Outcome: Mortality
 Population

Type 2 Diabetes

OR
Type 2 diabetics

Non insulin
dependent
diabetes
 Determinant/
Exposure
Renal
OR
Kidney
OR
Albuminuria
OR
Glomerular
EXAMPLE Outcome

Mortality
OR
Death
Population Determinant/ Outcome
Exposure
Type 2 Diabetes Renal Mortality
Type 2 diabetics Kidney Death

Non insulin dependent Albuminuria/

diabetes Albumin
Glomerular

AND AND
Save search
strategy
under My
NCBI
Save/ Email
collection
on articles
USE FILTERS TO REFINE:
By year
Text availability
Article type
Publication date
Others
HOW TO MESH UP YOUR SEARCH
MESH DATABASE

5 MeSH terms per record

Medical Subject Headings
(MeSH)  Based on title and abstract
words
Systematic keyword
Partially manual process
catalogue
 Misclassification possible
Related to content
 MeSH = US spelling
MESH DATABASE
Author keywords: NOT used
Only available 3 – 6 months after
publication
Adjustment to terms regular
 Eg. 2007
 22 terms removed
 494 terms added
 99 terms replaced
SELECTING STUDIES

Read and critique studies

Select those of good quality
Compare methods, results, findings etc
Tabulate info from each study & Compare
 EXAMPLE OF TABLE OF ROL
Citation Design Objectives Study Sample Measura Authors
populatio size ble Conclusi
n outcome ons
&
results

Chronologically Placed: From Recent to Past

PRACTICAL SESSION

Think of a research question and prepare search terms

5 minutes
Go through PubMed search together
LITERATURE SEARCH FOR QUALITATIVE STUDIES
Challenges of search in database:
 Titles are descriptive c.f. RCT which usually has clear description of
population, determinants, outcome and/or research method
 Eg: Unbearable incidents: Failure to endure the experience of Illness
 Specific key terms difficult
 Limited standardisation in presentation of abstract c.f RCT : poor
description of study method
 Poor indexing: inconsistent indexing in Pubmed
 Complex and difficult!
LITERATURE SEARCH FOR QUALITATIVE STUDIES
 Currently, no establish search strategy for qualitative study
Potentially useful method:
 Use appropriate MeSH terms in search:
 eg: qualitative research, focus groups, narration, anecdotes, grounded theory, attitude,
knowledge, practice
 Limit search to publication types
 Use a Quality research filter
 Pubmed Health services research queries
 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nichsr/hedges/search.html
Finding Qualitative Research Articles: Pubmed . http://libguides.hsl.washington.edu/c.php?g=99112&p=642322
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

 ICMR-NIE PPTS on RM
 INTERNET PPTS
 PUBMED
THANK YOU
ANY QUESTIONS?