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PubMed search
Getting Started
Start with:
- MEDLINE (Ovid)Searches MEDLINE, which is the primary source of journal articles for the health sciences (fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, public health, health care systems, and basic sciences). Ovid MEDLINE is optimized for advanced literature searches. Coverage is from the 1940s to the present.
- CINAHL Ultimate (Nursing & Allied Health)Covers nursing and allied health journal articles, book chapters, and dissertations, as well as providing summarized evidence-based resources such as care sheets and quick lessons.
- PubMedSearches MEDLINE, which is the primary source of journal articles for the health sciences (fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, public health, health care systems, and basic sciences). Coverage is from the 1940s to the present. View this tutorial to learn how to go from a general idea to a very precise set of results of journal articles and scholarly materials.
Then try any of the following:
- OTseekerOT seeker is a database that contains abstracts of systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials relevant to occupational therapy. Trials have been critically appraised and rated to assist you to evaluate their validity and interpretability.
- Google Scholar (Setup connection to get to PDFs)Use Google Scholar to find articles from academic publishers, professional societies, research institutes, and scholarly repositories from colleges and universities. If you are using from off-campus access, change the "Library Settings" to University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Look for the "FindIt@U of M Twin Cities" links in your Google Scholar search results to access full text and PDFs. View this tutorial to learn how to go from a general idea to a very precise set of results of journal articles and scholarly materials.
- ScopusSearch for information from scientific journals, books and conference proceedings. Covers the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and arts and humanities.
- MedlinePlusMedlinePlus is a consumer health database that has extensive information from the National Institutes of Health and other trusted sources on over hundreds of diseases and conditions. There are also lists of hospitals and physicians, a medical encyclopedia and dictionaries, health information in Spanish, extensive information on prescription and nonprescription drugs, health information from the media, and links to thousands of clinical trials.
Also check out:
- Acland's Video Atlas of Human AnatomyAcland's Video Atlas of Human Anatomy is a series of anatomy lessons on video presented by Robert Acland. The series uses unembalmed human specimens to illustrate anatomical structures.
- An@tomy.tvA detailed, interactive, 3D model of human anatomy with customized, downloadable images. Focuses on muscles, ligaments, nerves, veins, arteries, and bones. Includes features such as zoom, rotation, angle, layers, extensive text, MRI, clinical slides and xrays, movies, animations, radiology slides, dissection and surface anatomy videos and slides.
Health Sciences Research Toolkit
Resources, tips, and guidelines to help you through the research process.
Finding Information
Library Research Checklist
Helpful hints for starting a library research project.
Search Strategy Checklist and Tips
Helpful tips on how to develop a literature search strategy.
Boolean Operators: A Cheat Sheet
Boolean logic (named after mathematician George Boole) is a system of logic to designed to yield optimal search results. The Boolean operators, AND, OR, and NOT, help you construct a logical search. Boolean operators act on sets -- groups of records containing a particular word or concept.
Literature Searching
Overview and tips on how to conduct a literature search.
Health Statistics and Data Sources
Health related statistics and data sources are increasingly available on the Internet. They can be found already neatly packaged, or as raw data sets. The most reliable data comes from governmental sources or health-care professional organizations.
Evaluating Information
Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources in the Health Sciences
Understand what are considered primary, secondary and tertiary sources.
Scholarly vs Popular Journals/Magazines
How to determine what are scholarly journals vs trade or popular magazines.
Identifying Peer-Reviewed Journals
A “peer-reviewed” or “refereed” journal is one in which the articles it contains have been examined by people with credentials in the article’s field of study before it is published.
Evaluating Web Resources
When searching for information on the Internet, it is important to be aware of the quality of the information being presented to you. Keep in mind that anyone can host a web site. To be sure that the information you are looking at is credible and of value.
Conducting Research Through An Anti-Racism Lens
This guide is for students, staff, and faculty who are incorporating an anti-racist lens at all stages of the research life cycle.
Understanding Research Study Designs
Covers case studies, randomized control trials, systematic reviews and meta-analysis.
Qualitative Studies
Overview of what is a qualitative study and how to recognize, find and critically appraise.
Writing and Publishing
Citing Sources
Citations are brief notations in the body of a research paper that point to a source in the bibliography or references cited section.
Structure of a Research Paper
Reports of research studies usually follow the IMRAD format. IMRAD (Introduction, Methods, Results, [and] Discussion) is a mnemonic for the major components of a scientific paper. These elements are included in the overall structure of a research paper.
Top Reasons for Non-Acceptance of Scientific Articles
Avoid these mistakes when preparing an article for publication.
Annotated Bibliographies
Guide on how to create an annotated bibliography.
Writing guides, Style Manuals and the Publication Process in the Biological and Health Sciences
Style manuals, citation guides as well as information on public access policies, copyright and plagiarism.
Evidence Based Practice in OT
5 Steps of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)
Use the five "A's" to remember the critical steps of the evidence-based practice process:
- Ask the answerable clinical question.
- Acquire the most relevant and best evidence to answer the question.
- Appraise the evidence critically for validity, relevance, and applicability.
- Apply the evidence, along with critical expertise and the patient's preferences and values.
- Assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the previous four steps and seek ways to improve one's ability to ask, acquire, appraise, and apply.
Asking the question
The "Well-Built Clinical Question": PICO(T)
The first part of any research is identifying the question you want to answer. This is very important because the more you understand your question the more likely you are to obtain relevant results. The process of formulating a good search question is known in evidence-based health care as “the well-built clinical question.”* One way of building your search question starts with the patient and is known as PICO, which stands for:
- P - Patient or Population or Problem/Disease
Who or what is the question about? This may include the primary problem, disease, or circumstances. Sometimes the sex, age, or race of a patient might be relevant to the diagnosis or treatment of a disease. - I - Intervention, Exposure or Prognostic Factor
What main intervention/treatment are you considering? What factor may influence the prognosis of the patient, such as age or comorbidities? What was the patient exposed to? - C - Comparison(s) or Control
What alternative intervention are you considering, if any? For example, you might be comparing the efficacy of two medications or the accuracy of two diagnostic tests. Your clinical question does not have to always have a specific comparison. - O - Outcome(s)
What are you trying to accomplish or measure? What are you trying to do for the patient or problem? Examples might include managing a disease, alleviating symptoms, preventing a disease, etc. - T - Timeframe (optional)
What's the amount of time that you'll be observing the patient or problem. For example, improving rates of hospital-acquired infections over the course of a year.
Also consider the two Ts
Type of question
- Diagnosis: How to select and interpret diagnostic tests
- Therapy: How to select treatments to offer patients that do more good than harm and that are worth the efforts and costs of using them
- Prognosis: How to estimate the patient’s likely clinical course over time and anticipate likely complications of disease
- Etiology: How to identify causes for disease, including genetics
Type of study
For more information on the next two As — Acquiring the Evidence (literature searching) and Appraising the Evidence — go to the complete Evidence Based Practice LibGuide.
Tutorials
- Tutorial: Evidence Based Practice: Introductory Level
Evidence-Based Practice is an introductory level interprofessional tutorial from the Health Sciences Libraries at the University of Minnesota. This tutorial covers the foundational aspects of evidence-based practice. - Tutorial: Evidence Based Practice: An interprofessional tutorial
An interactive, self-paced orientation to foundational evidence-based practice methodology and skills. This tool features case studies from across the health professions, with an emphasis on finding and critically appraising best evidence.
OT specific resources
- Introduction to critical appraisal. OtSeeker database tutorial.
AOTA resources
eBooks on research: literature searching, critical appraisal, analysis
How to Perform a Systematic Literature Review by ISBN: 9783030496715Publication Date: 2020-08-05The systematic review is a rigorous method of collating and synthesizing evidence from multiple studies, producing a whole greater than the sum of parts. This textbook is an authoritative and accessible guide to an activity that is often found overwhelming. The authors steer readers on a logical, sequential path through the process, taking account of the different needs of researchers, students and practitioners. Practical guidance is provided on the fundamentals of systematic reviewing and also on advanced techniques such as meta-analysis. Examples are given in each chapter, with a succinct glossary to support the text. This up-to-date, accessible textbook will satisfy the needs of students, practitioners and educators in the sphere of healthcare, and contribute to improving the quality of evidence-based practice. The authors will advise some freely available or inexpensive open source/access resources (such as PubMed, R and Zotero) to help students how to perform a systemic review, in particular those with limited resources.
How to Read a Paper by ISBN: 9781119484745Publication Date: 2019-05-06Required reading in many medical and healthcare institutions, How to Read a Paper is a clear and wide-ranging introduction to evidence-based medicine and healthcare, helping readers to understand its central principles, critically evaluate published data, and implement the results in practical settings. Author Trisha Greenhalgh guides readers through each fundamental step of inquiry, from searching the literature to assessing methodological quality and appraising statistics. How to Read a Paper addresses the common criticisms of evidence-based healthcare, dispelling many of its myths and misconceptions, while providing a pragmatic framework for testing the validity of healthcare literature. Now in its sixth edition, this informative text includes new and expanded discussions of study bias, political interference in published reports, medical statistics, big data and more. Offers user-friendly guidance on evidence-based healthcare that is applicable to both experienced and novice readers Authored by an internationally recognised practitioner and researcher in evidence-based healthcare and primary care Includes updated references, additional figures, improved checklists and more How to Read a Paper is an ideal resource for healthcare students, practitioners and anyone seeking an accessible introduction to evidence-based healthcare.
Handbook of Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis by ISBN: 9780871540058Publication Date: 2019-06-14Research synthesis is the practice of systematically distilling and integrating data from many studies in order to draw more reliable conclusions about a given research issue. The editors and leading scholars guide the reader through every stage of the research synthesis process--problem formulation, literature search and evaluation, statistical integration, and report preparation. Those engaged in research synthesis will find useful advice on how tables, graphs, and narration can foster communication of the results of research syntheses.
Kielhofner's Research in Occupational Therapy by ISBN: 9780803640375Publication Date: 2017-01-12Discusses the newest forms of research and the philosophic basis of research. Covers all aspects of systematic inquiry, including qualitative research and quantitative research, and summarizes how inquiry is used in evidence-based practice. Explores statistical analysis, including meta-analysis-research design and measurement tools that are part of quantitative research. Incorporates OT-specific examples throughout the text. Presents contributions from an international team of authors, recognized experts in their fields. Features a consistent presentation in each chapter with highlighted quotes, feature boxes, tables, figures, and cross-referencing between chapters to enhance comprehension and navigation through the text. Includes a comprehensive glossary at the end of the book. Offers current sources for further study (journals, books, associations and Internet resources) in the appendix.
Research for the Health Professional (3rd Edition) by ISBN: 9780803645134Publication Date: 2014-01-01Concepts of research : how to embark on the journey -- Identifying a topic : purpose balanced with passion -- Reviewing the literature for research and practice -- Refining the topic of interest and developing the background story -- Getting started in the research process -- Quantitative research methodology and design -- Technical aspects of quantitative research -- Qualitative research methodology and design -- Technical aspects of qualitative research -- Understanding the triad of evidence-based practice : evidence; practitioner skills and knowledge; and client goals, values, and circumstances -- Before implementing your plan : important steps and considerations -- The art of writing up the research study or evidence-based practice project -- The art of presenting the research study or evidence-based practice project -- The art of publishing the research study or evidence-based practice project -- Grant funding : insights and approaches.
Video Tutorials
Research
Research Process in the Health Sciences (35:37 min): Overview of the scientific research process in the health sciences. Follows the seven steps: defining the problem, reviewing the literature, formulating a hypothesis, choosing a research design, collecting data, analyzing the data and interpretation and report writing. Includes a set of additional readings and library resources.
Research Study Designs in the Health Sciences (29:36 min): An overview of research study designs used by health sciences researchers. Covers case reports/case series, case control studies, cohort studies, correlational studies, cross-sectional studies, experimental studies (including randomized control trials), systematic reviews and meta-analysis. Additional readings and library resources are also provided.
Literature Searching In Ethics/Bioethics (52:07 min). An overview of what is a literature search, how to develop a research question, create a search strategy and some database demos. This video uses ethics/bioethics topics for examples, but the overlying principles are the same for any health sciences discipline.
Database searching
Citation Management
Citation managers are software packages used to create personalized databases of citation information and notes. They allow you to:
- import and organize citation information from article indexes and other sources,
- save pdfs and other documents,
- format citations for your papers and bibliographies using APA, MLA, Chicago, Vancouver, and many other styles, and
- include your own notes.
Choose a citation manager
Citation manager experts at the University Libraries support EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero, and BibTex.
Explore the citation managers below, contact us for support, or attend a workshop.
EndNote and EndNote Online
EndNote Desktop is a powerful citation manager that will allow you to organize large quantities of references for many projects. EndNote Online works either in conjunction with EndNote Desktop for collaboration or as a free stand-alone tool.
EndNote support
- EndNote guides and tutorials (Clarivate)
- EndNote Training (YouTube)
- Citation manager workshops at UMN
- EndNote Support for technical issues and errors
- Contact a librarian for training and on-campus support
Zotero
Zotero support
- Zotero guides and tutorials from Zotero.org
- Citation manager workshops at UMN
- Zotero forums for technical issues and support
- Request a consultation with the UMN Libraries for training and support
Mendeley
Mendeley is in the process of redesigning their software and there are now two versions of the program. Users of both programs are experiencing issues with compatibility and stability. We recognize that there are many Mendeley users on campus and provide these guides and one-on-one consultations for support. Because of all the known issues with Mendeley Desktop, Mendeley Reference Manager, and Mendeley Cite, we do not currently recommend using Mendeley as a citation manager if you are just getting started. Instead, we recommend Zotero as a free option that is similar in functionality and much more stable.
Mendeley support
- Mendeley guides and tutorials from Mendeley.com
- Video tutorials for Mendeley Desktop and Mendeley Reference Manager
- Mendeley Support Center for technical issues and errors
- Request a consultation with the UMN Libraries for training and on-campus support
APA Style
APA Style (American Psychological Association)
- Books
- Concise rules of APA style
1. Concise and bias-free writing -- 2. Punctuation, spelling, and capitalization -- 3. Italicizing and abbreviating -- 4. Numbers, metrication, and statistics -- 5. Tables -- 6. Figures -- 7. Footnotes and appendixes -- 8. Quotations, reference citations in text, and reference list -- 9. Reference examples. - Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
- The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition) is the style manual of choice for writers, editors, students, educators, and professionals in psychology, sociology, business, economics, nursing, social work, and justice administration.
- Writing with style: APA style made easy
- Introduction: the laypeople and you -- Some generalizations about how psychologists write -- Preparing the introduction section and the literature review paper -- Preparing the method section -- Preparing the results section -- Preparing the discussion section -- Preparing the abstract -- Preparing the references section -- Preparing a title page and formatting your manuscript -- Grooming tips for psychology papers -- Preparing a presentation -- Wrapping it up.
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- Introduction: the laypeople and you -- Some generalizations about how psychologists write -- Preparing the introduction section and the literature review paper -- Preparing the method section -- Preparing the results section -- Preparing the discussion section -- Preparing the abstract -- Preparing the references section -- Preparing a title page and formatting your manuscript -- Grooming tips for psychology papers -- Preparing a presentation -- Wrapping it up.
- Concise rules of APA style
- Internet Resources
- American Psychological Association (APA) style examples
- Monash University
- APA Format Citation Guide
- Mendeley.com
- APA Formatting And Style Guide (7th ed.)
- OWL Online Writing Lab, Purdue University.
- APA Quick Citation Guide
- Penn State University Libraries
- Academic Writer Tutorial: Basics of Seventh Edition APA Style
- From the American Psychological Association.
This tutorial is designed for those who have no previous knowledge of APA Style®. It shows users how to structure and format their work, recommends ways to reduce bias in language, identifies how to avoid charges of plagiarism, shows how to cite references in text, and provides selected reference examples.
- From the American Psychological Association.
- Bow Valley College Guide to APA Style
- Bow Valley College, California. Covers all aspects of APA style. Includes online tutorials and a set of FAQs
- Paper Format (APA Style)
- From APA.org - covers title, margins, line spacing, headers and more.
- How to Write a Paper in APA Format
- From VeryWellMind.com
- Student Paper Format - APA Style
- From Towson University
- American Psychological Association (APA) style examples