Robin Featherstone provides a presentation on how to conduct a literature review. She discusses developing a research question, searching PubMed using MeSH headings and keywords, applying filters, and organizing references using RefWorks. The presentation teaches residents how to perform an explicit, comprehensive, and reproducible literature search to inform their research.

1. How to conduct a lit review:
Obs/Gyn Residents 2012
Robin Featherstone, MLIS
Liaison Librarian (Medicine)
Life Sciences Library
Slides: http://www.slideshare.net/featherr

2. One thing you know
One thing you want to know

3. Objectives
By the end of this session, you will know:
1.How to construct a explicit, comprehensive,
reproducible search in PubMed
2.How to start a RefWorks account for
organizing your references

4. Where to begin?
At least I’m not responsible
for a lit review

5. Develop a Research Question
Why do you need one?

6. Scenario
You’re writing a research paper on intravenous
immunoglobulin (IVIG) for treating recurrent
miscarriage
Think of a research question related to this
topic...

7. How questions influence search results
High =
lots of
articles Broad
Questions
Retrieval
(# of search
results)
Narrow
Questions
Low =
very few
articles
Low = mostly High = directly
irrelevant articles Relevancy relevant articles

8. Possible Questions
Broad:
• What causes recurrent miscarriage? What are current
treatments for recurrent miscarriage?
Narrow:
• For women with unexplained recurrent miscarriage, does IVIG
increase the live birth rate?
Very Narrow:
• For African Canadian women above the age of 35 with
unexplained recurrent miscarriage, does IVIG increase the live
birth rate compared with antibiotic prophylaxis?

9. What kind of question is this?
Narrow:
• For women with unexplained recurrent miscarriage, does IVIG
increase the live birth rate?

10. Decide where to search
Foreground
questions
Background
questions
Novice Expert

11. Before you start searching…
Slow down before you speed up

12. A quick demo…
… of why you need a strategy…
… and why you should always check Search
Details

13. Break your question into
concepts
For women with unexplained recurrent
miscarriage, does IVIG increase the live
birth rate?

14. Find the subject headings for
your concepts
For women with unexplained recurrent
miscarriage, does IVIG increase the live
birth rate?

15. What is MeSH?

16. Find MeSH Using a Target Article
1. Hum Reprod Update. 1999 Sep-Oct;5(5):475-82.
Critical analysis of intravenous immunoglobulin therapy for recurrent
miscarriage.
Daya S, Gunby J, Porter F, Scott J, Clark DA.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McMaster University, Hamilton,
Ontario,
Canada. dayas@fhs.csu.mcmaster.ca
PMID: 10582784 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

17. Find the subject headings for
your concepts
For women with unexplained recurrent
miscarriage, does IVIG increase the live
birth rate?
Concept MeSH
recurrent miscarriage Abortion, Habitual
IVIG Immunoglobulins, Intravenous
live birth rate Pregnancy Rate ✖
Pregnancy Outcome ✔

18. Abortion, Habitual
Immunoglobulins,
intravenous
Pregnancy Outcome

19. Abortions, habitual OR
Immunoglobulins, intravenous
Abortions,
habitual
Immunoglobulins,
intravenous

20. Abortions, habitual AND
Immunoglobulins, intravenous
Abortions,
habitual
Immunoglobulins,
intravenous

21. Abortions, habitual AND Immunoglobulins,
intravenous AND Pregnancy Outcome
Abortions,
habitual
Immunoglobulins,
intravenous
How do you combine these
three concepts to answer the
question: For women with
unexplained recurrent
miscarriage, does IVIG increase
Pregnancy Outcome the live birth rate?

22. Abortions, habitual OR Immunoglobulins,
intravenous OR Pregnancy Outcome
Abortions,
habitual
Immunoglobulins,
intravenous
What if I combined with OR?
Pregnancy Outcome

23. Search strategy: For women with unexplained
recurrent miscarriage, does IVIG increase the
live birth rate?
Concept #1 Concept #2 Concept #3
AND AND
Immunoglobulins,
Abortions, habitual Pregnancy Outcome
MeSH intravenous

25. Next: Identify Text Words
Why? Because you want to:
1.Include citations for new publications that
don’t have subject headings
2.Include relevant citations that may have
different subject headings
3.Create a search strategy you can use in other
databases/search engines
• text words are universally accepted
• MeSH only works in PubMed

26. Search Strategy
Concept #1 Concept #2 Concept #3
AND AND
MeSH Immunoglobulins,
Abortion, Habitual Pregnancy Outcome
OR Intravenous
Text
habitual abortion intravenous pregnancy outcome
Words OR immunoglobulins
recurrent miscarriage IVIG live birth
OR
recurrent abortion still birth
OR

27. Abortions, habitual OR
Immunoglobulins, intravenous
✗
Abortions,
habitual
Immunoglobulins,
intravenous

28. habitual abortion OR recurrent
✓
miscarriage OR recurrent abortion
habitual
abortion recurrent
miscarriage
recurrent abortion

29. Search Strategy
Concept #1 Concept #2 Concept #3
AND AND
MeSH Immunoglobulins,
Abortion, Habitual Pregnancy Outcome
OR Intravenous
Text
habitual abortion intravenous pregnancy outcome
Words OR immunoglobulins
recurrent miscarriage IVIG live birth
OR
recurrent abortion still birth
OR
What’s missing??

30. Search Strategy
Concept #1 Concept #2 Concept #3
AND AND
MeSH Immunoglobulins,
Abortion, Habitual Pregnancy Outcome
OR Intravenous
Text
“habitual abortion” “intravenous “pregnancy outcome” OR
Words OR “habitual immunoglobulins” OR “pregnancy outcomes”
abortions” “intravenous
OR immunoglobulin”
“recurrent
miscarriage” OR
IVIG OR IVIGs “live birth” OR “live births”
“recurrent
OR miscarriages”
“recurrent abortion”
OR “recurrent “still birth” OR “still births”
OR abortions”

31. Run the search

32. How to Search
• Start with your first concept
– Search for the subject headings first
– Then search text words
– Combine these synonymous searches with OR
using your search history
• Repeat for your second, third, and subsequent
concepts
• Finally, combine large search results set with
AND

33. How to Search
Concept 1 Concept 2
Search #1 = Search #6 =
Search #2 = Search #7 =
Search #3 = Search #8 =
Search #4 = Search #9 =
Search #5 = #1 OR #2 OR #3 OR #4 Search #10 = #6 OR #7 OR #8 OR #9
Search #11 = #5 AND #10
Results

34. PubMed Advanced Search Builder

35. PubMed Search Strategy
((((((("abortion, habitual"[MeSH Terms])) OR (("habitual
abortion"[Title/Abstract]) OR "habitual abortions"[Title/Abstract])) OR
(("recurrent miscarriage"[Title/Abstract]) OR "recurrent
miscarriages"[Title/Abstract])) OR (("recurrent abortion"[Title/Abstract])
OR "recurrent abortions"[Title/Abstract]))) AND (((("immunoglobulins,
intravenous"[MeSH Terms])) OR (("intravenous
immunoglobulins"[Title/Abstract]) OR "intravenous
immunoglobulin"[Title/Abstract])) OR ((IVIG[Title/Abstract]) OR
IVIGs[Title/Abstract]))) AND ((((("pregnancy outcome"[MeSH Terms]))
OR (("pregnancy outcome"[Title/Abstract]) OR "pregnancy
outcomes"[Title/Abstract])) OR (("live birth"[Title/Abstract]) OR "live
births"[Title/Abstract])) OR (("still birth"[Title/Abstract]) OR "still
births"[Title/Abstract]))

36. Break – 10 mins

37. Applying filters

38. Example Filters
1. Date of publication
– only studies conducted between 2002 and 2012
1. Species
– only humans
1. Publication language
– only materials written in English or French
1. Publication type
– only RCTs

39. Available to McGill students, faculty, staff.
Export References to a Citation
Manager
Available to McGill students, faculty, staff.
Information and workshops:
http://www.mcgill.ca/library/library-using/citationsoftware

40. Why should you use a citation
manager?

41. Citation Managers
What they do:
– Identify and remove duplicate references
– Format your bibliography
– Organize references into folders
– Share your references with colleagues

43. Recap
1. A quality literature review is _____
2. Combine synonymous searches with ______
3. To find subject headings, use ______
4. To run a search in PubMed, use ______
5. To import PubMed citations into RefWorks,
use the ______

44. Where to go for Help
Robin Featherstone Irina Iavorskaia
Liaison Librarian Librarian
Life Sciences Library, Women’s Pavilion Library
McGill University Royal Victoria Hospital
514-398-4475 ext. 09844 514-934-1934 ext 34738
robin.featherstone@mcgill.ca irina.iavorskaia@muhc.mcgill.ca

45. Questions
Robin Featherstone, MLIS
Liaison Librarian (Medicine)
robin.featherstone@mcgill.ca
Slides: http://www.slideshare.net/featherr