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Online searching (MEDLINE Plus) - basic

Friday, 5th September 2008 (BMA House, London)
Friday, 10th October 2008 (BMA House, London)
Friday, 7th November 2008 (BMA House, London)

This full-day practical course will look at the structure of the MEDLINE database, techniques for planning a search and basic search skills.

If you are confident in these skills, why not try our online searching (advanced) course.

Who is it for?

• Doctors seeking evidence-based information for use in clinical practice
• Those needing to carry out comprehensive literature reviews on a clinical subject
• Librarians new to health libraries and needing an overview of MEDLINE.

What is covered?

• The MEDLINE database structure and scope, strengths and limitations
• Basic search options – looking for authors, titles and journals
• Planning a search
• Searching using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) or textwords
• Handling the results of a search
• Plenty of opportunity for hands-on practice with the MEDLINE Plus (Ovid) system.

We will assume you:

• have access to MEDLINE via Ovid (for example as a personal or institutional member of the BMA with access to the Library’s MEDLINE Plus service).

Course leader:
Alain Besson, Information Skills Librarian at St Bartholomew's and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry (Queen Mary, University of London)

Location and times:
BMA House, Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9JP.
Registration 10am; start 10.10am; lunch 12.45 – 1.45 pm; end 4pm.

Cost: £160 +VAT(£188) (members); £320 +VAT(£376) (non-members). Lunch included.
We will send a confirmation letter and an invoice, to be paid before the course. One week’s written notice is required for full refunds.
Make an online booking for the online searching course (basic) here.

More information:
Call Euphemia Abraham at BMA Library on 020 7383 6136, email: eabraham@bma.org.uk.

Course objectives:
At the end of the course you will:

• Know the structure and scope of the MEDLINE database – its major strengths and limitations
• Understand and have used the basic search options in the Library’s MEDLINE Plus system
• Be able to search the Library’s MEDLINE Plus system using icons or commands
• Be able to translate the question into a suitable search strategy
• Be aware of different approaches for searching for subject information or for checking known information
• Understand how to display, save, email, print or order search results
• Be aware of additional features of the library’s MEDLINE Plus service – online ordering, free search service, free alerting service, full text access and help desk / web site support.

Course materials:
A copy of the course workbook is provided to all course participants.

For those not able to attend, please download a copy of the MEDLINE Plus course workbook or any of the quick guides by using the links in the right-hand margin.

A colour printed version of the course workbook (51 pages) is available for purchase for a non-refundable price of £20+VAT (£23.50). Please make a cheque payable to British Medical Association and address to:

Mrs Euphemia Abraham
BMA Library
BMA House
Tavistock Square
London
WC1H 9JP

Please say you would like a copy of the Online Searching Course Notes and include the address where you would like us to send the workbook.









Picture: A BMA Library course in action