Laboratory Medicine: Find evidence (Journals)

Journals

[mgsloan, 'Stylized Computer', CC Licence: CC0 1.0 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/, Image Source: Open Clip Art Library http://www.openclipart.org/detail/3956/stylized-computer-by-mgsloan]Journals are the primary medium for scholarly communication. They account for a large percentage of university research output and publish issues on a regular basis (e.g. monthly, quarterly). They:

  • provide highly focused information
  • can be the best source of the latest material on a topic
  • sometimes be one of the few (or only) sources of scholarly information on a topic

UniSA Library provides online access to hundreds of journals relating to laboratory medicine.

Remember to evaluate! Just as with books, there are different types of of journals. Not all journals are suitable for your assignments.

Browse UniSA’s subscribed journals and easily access PDFs

BrowZine

BrowZine™ allows you to easily access and browse journals available online via UniSA. Access via Catalogue > Journals

LibKey Nomad

LibKey Nomad™ is a Google Chrome Extension that makes it easy to access journal articles anywhere on the internet. 

 

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For instructions on how to install BrowZine and LibKey, visit Library News

My Bookshelf is the place where you can organise your favorite journals and stay up to date in your field!  You may rename and organise your "shelves" and "bookcases" however you'd like! This configuration will automatically sync to your other devices when you use the same login.

See the video below to learn how to add a journal to My bookshelf (11 mins)

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  • What is the BrowZine Account?

The BrowZine Account is the system used to provide personalization features throughout the BrowZine ecosystem.  Having a BrowZine Account is required for using My Bookshelf on all devices as it is used to tie together your different devices so you only need to configure My Bookshelf on one device and the configuration will sync seamlessly between them.

  • What email can I use to create my BrowZine Account?  Does it matter?

In most cases, you can use any email you would like!  For libraries using the BrowZine Pairing Service, you may be restricted to using only your university/company email address.  BrowZine will alert you to this fact if you try to use another email at one of these accounts automatically.

  • Do I have to have an account?  Can I use BrowZine at all without one?

No, you do not have to have an account to use BrowZine.  You can still browse the shelves, look up titles, read tables of contents, and download articles.  However, in order to use the personalization feature of My Bookshelf and My Articles, a BrowZine account is required so that we can synchronize and back-up your data across all devices and ensure that we keep your device accurately updated.

  • What if you can't find a journal in BrowZine?
    • ​You can try searching the name of the journal in the Library catalogue, e.g. Journal of advanced nursing.
    • For table of contents of the journal, search the web by journal title. Most publishers offer email alerts for the table of contents of the latest issue's.
    • Contact Interlibrary Loans and Document Delivery Service (Eligibility applied).
    • Remember there maybe free Open Access versions of journal articles - use the Unpaywall Chrome/Firefox extension to find them (about Unpaywall)

Tips for searching

  1. Physicians for Human Rights, ‘PHR-IL's Open Clinic for Migrants and Asylum Seekers’, June 1910, CC License 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en), Image source: Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/phrisrael/4688219864/)Don't know much about the topic area? Do some background reading. For example, look in your textbook(s) or a try a relevant book.
     
  2. Look at the terms used in any key articles found. For example, look at the abstract, subject headings or author-supplied keywords. Can you use these terms to further revise your search?
     
  3. Look at the reference list of any key articles found. These may be relevant.
     
  4. If you cannot find what you need in one database, try another one.
     
  5. Change your search. You may need to re-work it by adding another concept to focus it further, or removing a concept to broaden it. Are there any synonyms (similar keywords) you need to add?
     
  6. Searching for evidence takes time and practice. You may need to revise your search several times before you find what you need.

Databases

Facts and Myths [Source: purchased from Dollar photo club, https://www.dollarphotoclub.com/]Databases are search tools for finding articles, papers, reports, book chapters and more. Search by topic, author, or in a specific publication. Scholarly references are best found in databases.

Databases can be discipline specific (such as Embase (viaOvidSP), or multidisciplinary (such as Scopus). Many contain full text material, or the reference and abstract only. Find more databases by browsing the database list by subject.

How to search in databases

Medline is a great place to search for syntheses (systematic reviews and meta-analyses), synopses of studies, and primary studies.

Search tip: Filter your results by relevant study design (based on the question type) once you have searched.

Emcare is a great place to search for syntheses (systematic reviews and meta-analyses), synopses of studies, and primary studies.

Search tip: Filter your results by relevant study design (based on the question type) once you have searched.

Use this tutorial to learn how to search in Emcare database.

The Cochrane Library is a great place to search for summaries (guidelines and protocols), synopses of syntheses (clinical answers), and syntheses (systematic reviews and meta-analyses).

Search tip: Use the filters to refine your search to different publication types.

Scopus is a great place to search for primary studies.

Search tip: find studies by applying filters for the relevant study design.

Image lin kto video : searching on Scopus

Google Scholar is a great place to search for syntheses (systematic reviews and meta-analyses) and primary studies.

Google is good for finding summaries (guidelines, protocols and patient information) from authoritative organisations.

Next steps

Find Book <image, public domain>Need more evidence? Consider searching for books. Click the image to learn how.

 



 

Evaluate <Image, public domain>Once you have found the evidence you intend to use for your assignment, you should evaluate it. Click the image to learn how.