SHANEIL Workshop

I found the workshop very valuable and I think it has given the project a real boost. Best things about the workshop:
- Excellent presentation/facilitation - your enthusiasm is very infectious Susie.
- The training has a very clear aim/outcome and we definitely need to create something as a result of it!

Things to improve - only one really and this one was already recognised during the session. The section on qualitative evaluation was a little rushed. It would have been nice to be able to absorb this at a more leisurely pace but you can't have everything.

Thanks very much

Joanne

As promised - your answers to the Search 2.0 exercise from April 2nd

Hi all,

As promised, below are each group's answers to the hands-on exercise you did as part of my IL activity last week. I've recorded your answers in blue, and haven't added any comments of my own, but I can do if you think it would be helpful - let me know.

Cheers, best of luck with C5...

Ruth


Group 1 – Thesaurus searching

In Medline, run a thesaurus search on ‘bereavement’.

View the scope note, then hide it. Please comment about any difficulties or issues with doing this, or any other relevant observations.

Scope note cannot be hidden once it is displayed. Clicking Cancel removes the original search query. The possibility of using the browser’s Back button was suggested but the group did not actually try this out.

Select the term Bereavement, exploding it and choosing Major descriptor.
Now repeat the above search, but this time also select the term Aged, then deselect it BEFORE clicking Search. What happens? Can you find a solution to this?

Although the second term is deselected, the search engine still includes it, combining it with the first term using OR. No satisfactory solution was found other than re-running the first search and ensuring no mistakes are made when selecting thesaurus terms.

Group 2 – Thesaurus searching

In Medline, run a search on ‘eczema or atopic dermatitis’, mapping to thesaurus. What happens?

A message is returned saying ‘Unable to retrieve thesaurus’.

Can you suggest a way of getting round this problem?

Do each part of the search separately and combine steps using OR.

Any other comments?

Surprisingly little overlap between terms – surprised there weren’t more records in common. Not many thesaurus headings returned. Scope notes not good.

Group 3 – Using limits

In Medline, run a search on ‘eczema or atopic dermatitis’ in title and abstract.

Run a search on ‘corticosteroid*’ in title and abstract.

Combine the two searches with AND. Is it obvious how to do this?

Quite straightforward and intuitive. The only unexpected behaviour was the title and abstract field selection in the first search reverting to title only every time a new search was started.

Now apply the following limits: Preschool child (2-5 years); Publication type: Clinical Trials, all

Is it obvious how to do this? Please list any difficulties or unexpected behaviour you found and any solutions you came up with.

Seemed quite obvious.

Switch off the limits.
Again, please list any difficulties or unexpected behaviour you found. How did you solve these?

It wasn’t really apparent how to turn the limits off as opposed to just hiding them.