Literature searching skills to help you find the information you need for your studies
Literature searching step by step
Work your way through the following 5 recommended resources and you’ll have all the fundamental literature search skills you’ll need to get started.
Accessibility note: you may need to log into your UH Office 365 account homepage and return to this page and refresh before you can watch the UH only Library and Computing Services (LCS) resources.
Information Lifecycle
(Video tutorial – UH LCS resource)
Recommended: This resource illustrates how information evolves into different sources with varied applications.
Related resources: Evaluating: What types of sources are available? (Web tutorial – UH only Library SkillUP resources)
Online library introduction
(Video tutorial – UH only LCS resource)
Recommended: This video highlights where functionality and services are located on your Online Library page.
Alternatively, you may watch this video from this link.
Related resources: KnowHow guide – An introduction to Library and Computing Services (Website – UH only StudyNet resource)
Finding a journal article
(Video tutorial – UH only LCS resource)
Recommended: This video demonstrates how to find a journal article.
Alternatively, you may watch this video from this link.
Related resources: Searching: Library search (Web tutorial – UH only Library SkillUP resources)
Finding a database
(Video tutorial – UH only LCS resource)
Recommended: This video demonstrates how to access health specific databases. Databases store journal articles.
Note: If you’re studying within other Health professions or Social Work, follow the same process to access your databases under Specialist Databases.
If you can’t see your subject toolkit under ‘My Subject Toolkits’ on your Online Library page, click on ‘Customise’ and select the checkbox for your subject.
Related resources: Searching: Find a database for your subject area, Searching: Why use a literature database?, Searching: What is an information database? (Web tutorials – UH only Library SkillUP resources)
Search terms with Boolean Operators
(Video tutorial – UH only LCS resource)
Recommended: This video demonstrates how to use Boolean Operators to select more detailed search requirements.
Alternatively, you may watch this video from this link.
Related resources:
Narrated PowerPoint literature searching (Video tutorial – UH only LCS resource) – Truncation Boolean operator explanation begins at 2:06, Searching: Combining keywords (Boolean searching) (Web tutorial – UH only Library SkillUP resource)
An example of searching a database: Cinahl Plus
(Video tutorial – UH only LCS resource)
Alternatively, you may watch this video from this link.
Related resources: Searching Pubmed, Searching the Scopus database, Google scholar (Note: Google scholar evidence needs to be carefully evaluated) (Video tutorials – UH only LCS resources)
Further resources
Online library YouTube channel (Video tutorials – UH LCS resources)
What are journals? (Interactive web tutorial – University of Nottingham)
Advanced Literature Search Guide: Critical Appraisal (Web page – University College Suffolk)
Advanced skill: Searching: Using cited references (Web tutorial – UH only Library SkillUP resource)
Advanced skill: Cited Reference Searching in CINAHL (Video tutorial – Bellack Library YouTube Channel)
Advanced skill: RSS for keeping up to date with journals (Video tutorial – UH only LCS resource)
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