Focused Searches

How to retrieve and display a single article reference, cited in two different databases, Journals@Ovid and Ovid MEDLINE, in order to compare the content and format of the database record for the respective resource.

Background

Journals@Ovid is an aggregated online database of all the journals available via the Ovid platform. These journals are from a variety of sources, principally, Lippincott®, Williams & Wilkins (LWW), from societies as well as from partnering publishers. The actual journals in full-text that you have access to will depend upon the selection of journal packages (2), groups of journals or individual publications your institution has subscribed to. Be sure to check with your librarian.

Accessible via the Ovid platform, collections of full-text journals as well as single publications can be searched on and across using Ovid's powerful search functionality. Journal content can be displayed and retrieved in PDF format. Or alternatively in the browser-based Ovid Full Text format, which in turn facilitates targeted navigation through the journal's content using the Outline feature. This format also enables the provision of information sharing and export via Tools. 

Journals@Ovid – Facts and Figures (1)

• Journals@Ovid is an aggregated online database of hundreds of scientific, technical, and medical journals.
• The Ovid Full Text Collections are subsets of journals combined for local access.
• The journals covered are from over 50 publishers and societies.
• Each journal is nevertheless available by individual subscription.
• Purchase of any of Ovid's Full Text journals, provides access to all the bibliographic citations in the database.
• The bibliographic citation information includes the title, references and abstract (where available) for each database record,  all of which are searchable.

Training Session Programme

This Learning Pathway series of training modules draws upon the content and teaching approaches in and behind the learning resource OvidGO! (3). Constructed around a selection of focused searches, the training programme has been designed to achieve the following two objectives,

1. to introduce the database, Journals@Ovid, drawing upon where helpful, parallels and comparisons with Ovid MEDLINE,
2. to discuss, demonstrate and practice the key features and functionality of the database Journals@Ovid. 

(1). Journals@Ovid Database Guide
https://ovidsp.dc1.ovid.com/ovid-new-b/ovidweb.cgi?&S=876bba95-4fa0-485f-95c9-386b9ccfaab1%7cmain&Database+Field+Guide=53

(2). Journals@Ovid
https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/ovid/platforms-products/journals

(3). OvidGO! Learning Resource
https://tools.ovid.com/ovidgo/

This focused search, conducted across two databases (Journals@Ovid and Ovid MEDLINE) in a single session, retrieves two versions of the same article. One version is from Journals@Ovid, the other from Ovid MEDLINE. By comparing these two versions (it is suggested in two different browser windows) you will be able to compare the similarities and differences in the respective displays of each of the records.

Points to note:

• There are a range of similarities and differences between A&I bibliographic databases.
• Similarities include the way in which the records are constructed, editorial processes, the use of controlled vocabularies for indexing, limits, author keyword inclusion, how the records may be searched and how the results are displayed.
• However, differences may also be evident in these very areas, i.e. in way in which the records are constructed, editorial processes, the use of controlled vocabularies for indexing, author keyword inclusion, how the records may be searched and how the results are displayed etc.
• An awareness of the similarities and differences between A&I bibliographic databases will make for a better understanding of them and help in the construction of search strategies.

Instructions:

1. Logon to Ovid, select Journals@Ovid <To Present> and Ovid MEDLINE <1946 to Present>.
2. Select the Advanced Search / Title mode.
3. Enter the article title as the search for this focused search as listed below.
4. Alternatively, having not yet logged on,  <Click here> to run this focused search above in Ovid.

"Everything has its price: Foundations of cost-sensitive machine learning and its application in psychology."

which yields...

"Everything has its price: Foundations of cost-sensitive machine learning and its application in psychology.".m_titl.

Practice Suggestions

1. The search yields three references for two sources. How can you explain this?
2. Do the versions from the different sources display the same Keyword Headings?
3. How many major topics are listed in each of the two bibliographic records?

Strategy

"Everything has its price: Foundations of cost-sensitive machine learning and its application in psychology.".m_titl.

How to use the database command 'docz.dz.' and the Publication Type (PT) field to identify the constituent parts of Journals@Ovid and show their relative sizes.

Background

Journals@Ovid is an aggregated online database of all the journals available via the Ovid platform. These journals are from a variety of sources, principally, Lippincott®, Williams & Wilkins (LWW), from societies as well as from partnering publishers. The actual journals in full-text that you have access to will depend upon the selection of journal packages (2), groups of journals or individual publications your institution has subscribed to. Be sure to check with your librarian.

Accessible via the Ovid platform, collections of full-text journals as well as single publications can be searched on and across using Ovid's powerful search functionality. Journal content can be displayed and retrieved in PDF format. Or alternatively in the browser-based Ovid Full Text format, which in turn facilitates targeted navigation through the journal's content using the Outline feature. This format also enables the provision of information sharing and export via Tools. 

Journals@Ovid – Facts and Figures (1)

• Journals@Ovid is an aggregated online database of hundreds of scientific, technical, and medical journals.
• The Ovid Full Text Collections are subsets of journals combined for local access.
• The journals covered are from over 50 publishers and societies.
• Each journal is nevertheless available by individual subscription.
• Purchase of any of Ovid's Full Text journals, provides access to all the bibliographic citations in the database.
• The bibliographic citation information includes the title, references and abstract (where available) for each database record,  all of which are searchable.

Training Session Programme

This Learning Pathway series of training modules draws upon the content and teaching approaches in and behind the learning resource OvidGO! (3). Constructed around a selection of focused searches, the training programme has been designed to achieve the following two objectives,

1. to introduce the database, Journals@Ovid, drawing upon where helpful, parallels and comparisons with Ovid MEDLINE,
2. to discuss, demonstrate and practice the key features and functionality of the database Journals@Ovid. 

(1). Journals@Ovid Database Guide
https://ovidsp.dc1.ovid.com/ovid-new-b/ovidweb.cgi?&S=876bba95-4fa0-485f-95c9-386b9ccfaab1%7cmain&Database+Field+Guide=53

(2). Journals@Ovid
https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/ovid/platforms-products/journals

(3). OvidGO! Learning Resource
https://tools.ovid.com/ovidgo/

The docz.dz Command
Entered at the command line of an Ovid search mode, you can use the docz.dz command on any database on Ovid to establish the number of records in the resource. For instance, doing so here for Journals@Ovid will return the total number of database records your selection of subscribed to journals can be broken down into.

Then using the Limits function, this latter docz.dz search can be combined with the database field Publication Type (PT) in the form of a ‘limit’ to display and show the ‘shape’ of the database. By this is meant the database’s structure, its composition in terms of database fields, its indexing processes, controlled vocabulary, if available, and limits options. These are database properties you need to know, be aware of  and consider when designing search strategies as they may have a material impact on your searches, their construction, execution and rendered outcomes.    

Points to note:

• Ovid Full Text Collections have in the past always included items such as research articles, book and other media reviews, editorials, as well as letters to the editor.
• In Journals@Ovid, classified advertising, announcements, abstracts of symposia, calendars, and corrections, where available, are now being added.  
• These newer items can be listed and displayed specifically using the Publication Type (PT) as a ‘limit’ as demonstrated in the Focused Search.
• The newer content items, e.g. advertisements, announcements, meeting abstracts and corrections are licensed by the publisher, and therefore vary somewhat from journal to journal.

Instructions:

1. Logon to Ovid, select Journals@Ovid , select the Advanced Search / Keyword mode.
2. Enter the search lines for this focused search as listed below.
3. Alternatively, having not yet logged on,  <Click here> to run this focused search above in Ovid.

docz.dz.
limit 1 to advertisements
limit 1 to announcements
limit 1 to "book or media reviews"
limit 1 to corrections
limit 1 to editorials
limit 1 to letters
limit 1 to meeting abstracts
limit 1 to miscellaneous
limit 1 to original articles
limit 1 to reports
limit 1 to "review articles"
2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 or 11 or 12
1 not 13
13 or 14

Questions:

1. What proportion of the database is made up of editorials and letters?
2. How could you narrow down to ‘Publish Ahead of Print’ articles?
3. What sort of records are classified as ‘Miscellaneous’?

Strategy

docz.dz.
limit 1 to advertisements
limit 1 to announcements
limit 1 to "book or media reviews"
limit 1 to corrections
limit 1 to editorials
limit 1 to letters
limit 1 to meeting abstracts
limit 1 to miscellaneous
limit 1 to original articles
limit 1 to reports
limit 1 to "review articles"
2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 or 11 or 12
1 not 13
13 or 14

How to search systematically in Journals@Ovid using sentences and phrases with the Basic Search, Ovid’s Natural Language Processing (NLP) search mode.

Background

Journals@Ovid is an aggregated online database of all the journals available via the Ovid platform. These journals are from a variety of sources, principally, Lippincott®, Williams & Wilkins (LWW), from societies as well as from partnering publishers. The actual journals in full-text that you have access to will depend upon the selection of journal packages (2), groups of journals or individual publications your institution has subscribed to. Be sure to check with your librarian.

Accessible via the Ovid platform, collections of full-text journals as well as single publications can be searched on and across using Ovid's powerful search functionality. Journal content can be displayed and retrieved in PDF format. Or alternatively in the browser-based Ovid Full Text format, which in turn facilitates targeted navigation through the journal's content using the Outline feature. This format also enables the provision of information sharing and export via Tools. 

Journals@Ovid – Facts and Figures (1)

• Journals@Ovid is an aggregated online database of hundreds of scientific, technical, and medical journals.
• The Ovid Full Text Collections are subsets of journals combined for local access.
• The journals covered are from over 50 publishers and societies.
• Each journal is nevertheless available by individual subscription.
• Purchase of any of Ovid's Full Text journals, provides access to all the bibliographic citations in the database.
• The bibliographic citation information includes the title, references and abstract (where available) for each database record, all of which are searchable.

Training Session Programme

This Learning Pathway series of training modules draws upon the content and teaching approaches in and behind the learning resource OvidGO! (3). Constructed around a selection of focused searches, the training programme has been designed to achieve the following two objectives,

1. to introduce the database, Journals@Ovid, drawing upon where helpful, parallels and comparisons with Ovid MEDLINE,
2. to discuss, demonstrate and practice the key features and functionality of the database Journals@Ovid. 

(1). Journals@Ovid Database Guide
https://ovidsp.dc1.ovid.com/ovid-new-b/ovidweb.cgi?&S=876bba95-4fa0-485f-95c9-386b9ccfaab1%7cmain&Database+Field+Guide=53

(2). Journals@Ovid
https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/ovid/platforms-products/journals

(3). OvidGO! Learning Resource
https://tools.ovid.com/ovidgo/

When using databases for research, a common problem for beginners and advanced users alike, is how to find appropriate and relevant terms for the subjects being investigated. This could be because the user is unfamiliar with the subject or is working with the database from another language that differs from the language in which the subject terms are expressed. Or that the subject is new and that a consensus has not formed around key ideas and concepts and hence, have not yet found their way into the controlled vocabularies that are the basis of database thesauri, such as MeSH for Ovid MEDLINE and Emtree for Embase on Ovid.  

In such cases Ovid’s Basic Search can help. A natural language processing (NLP), relevancy ranking search engine, the Basic Search enables you to enter terms as simple expressions in any sequence. That is to say, there is no need to add Boolean operators or wildcard symbols or expressions. The entered terms are compared against those in a proprietary lexicon that Ovid has built to support the Basic Search and, following a statistical evaluation and ranking process, returns results on the basis of their calculated relevance to the terms you originally entered.

One of the many advantages of the Basic Search is that you can search using single terms, combinations of terms or complete sentences. If you can describe the problem or task, you can search on Journals@Ovid! Being a field blind search, the Basic Search will focus on returning results that are deemed the most relevant. These results can be separated from the total number of returned documents by using the ‘5 Stars’ limit.

Points to note:

• The Basic Search operates across the entire database or combination of databases as selected.
• Boolean operators, OR, AND, NOT, as well as proximity operators, ADJ and ADJn and wildcards for truncation and character replacement are not used in the Basic Search mode.
• The most relevant results returned by a Basic Search are those where all the query concepts are said to be present. These are the so-called ‘5 Star’ results.
• The total number of results returned following a Basic Search contains ‘a long tail’ of references where many of the query concepts are not present and so are deemed less relevant.
• Basic Search searches cannot be directly combined with one another or with search results obtained using the Advanced Search mode.

Instructions:

1. Logon to Ovid, select Journals@Ovid <To Present>, select the Basic Search mode.
2. Enter the search lines for this focused search as listed below using the given entry terms.
3. Alternatively, having not yet logged on,  <Click here> to run this focused search above in Ovid.

do omega-3 fatty acids prevent cardiovascular disease [Entry term(s): Whole sentence]
limit 1 to five stars
limit 2 to yr="2020 -Current"
adolescents adhd Ritalin adverse effects [Entry term(s): Words, abbreviations, phrases]
limit 4 to five stars
limit 5 to yr="2020 -Current"
children sepsis guidelines [Entry term(s): Words in sequence]
limit 7 to five stars
limit 8 to yr="2024 -Current"
limit 7 to (five stars or four stars or three stars or two stars or one star)
 

Questions:

1. Does adding or subtracting the hyphen in ‘omega-3’ make a difference to the results?
2. What Type of search is the search in line #10?
3. What other limits could you use to narrow down your results?

Strategy

do omega-3 fatty acids prevent cardiovascular disease [Entry term(s): Whole sentence]
limit 1 to five stars
limit 2 to yr="2020 -Current"
adolescents adhd Ritalin adverse effects [Entry term(s): Words, abbreviations, phrases]
limit 4 to five stars
limit 5 to yr="2020 -Current"
children sepsis guidelines [Entry term(s): Words in sequence]
limit 7 to five stars
limit 8 to yr="2024 -Current"
limit 7 to (five stars or four stars or three stars or two stars or one star)
 

How to search quickly and effectively in Journals@ovid using Ovid’s four standard Advanced Search search options: 1. Keyword, 2. Author, 3. Title and 4. Journal.

Background

Journals@Ovid is an aggregated online database of all the journals available via the Ovid platform. These journals are from a variety of sources, principally, Lippincott®, Williams & Wilkins (LWW), from societies as well as from partnering publishers. The actual journals in full-text that you have access to will depend upon the selection of journal packages (2), groups of journals or individual publications your institution has subscribed to. Be sure to check with your librarian.

Accessible via the Ovid platform, collections of full-text journals as well as single publications can be searched on and across using Ovid's powerful search functionality. Journal content can be displayed and retrieved in PDF format. Or alternatively in the browser-based Ovid Full Text format, which in turn facilitates targeted navigation through the journal's content using the Outline feature. This format also enables the provision of information sharing and export via Tools. 

Journals@Ovid – Facts and Figures (1)

• Journals@Ovid is an aggregated online database of hundreds of scientific, technical, and medical journals.
• The Ovid Full Text Collections are subsets of journals combined for local access.
• The journals covered are from over 50 publishers and societies.
• Each journal is nevertheless available by individual subscription.
• Purchase of any of Ovid's Full Text journals, provides access to all the bibliographic citations in the database.
• The bibliographic citation information includes the title, references and abstract (where available) for each database record, all of which are searchable.

Training Session Programme

This Learning Pathway series of training modules draws upon the content and teaching approaches in and behind the learning resource OvidGO! (3). Constructed around a selection of focused searches, the training programme has been designed to achieve the following two objectives,

1. to introduce the database, Journals@Ovid, drawing upon where helpful, parallels and comparisons with Ovid MEDLINE,
2. to discuss, demonstrate and practice the key features and functionality of the database Journals@Ovid. 

(1). Journals@Ovid Database Guide
https://ovidsp.dc1.ovid.com/ovid-new-b/ovidweb.cgi?&S=876bba95-4fa0-485f-95c9-386b9ccfaab1%7cmain&Database+Field+Guide=53

(2). Journals@Ovid
https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/ovid/platforms-products/journals

(3). OvidGO! Learning Resource
https://tools.ovid.com/ovidgo/

In the previous Focused Search we saw how Ovid’s Basic Search employs an NLP driven relevancy ranking search engine to locate information, rank it according to the original search criteria and subsequently provide a set of results. In terms of its processing, such a search engine may be regarded as operating “field blind”.

By contrast Ovid’s Advanced Search mode draws heavily upon the system, structure and granularity of database fields in order to be able to locate information precisely and efficiently, even though the size of the database may well extend into tens of millions of database records. The power of database field searching will be looked at in more detail in subsequent Focused Searches along this Journals@Ovid Learning Pathway. The modules that follow will discuss and demonstrate searching techniques using database fields such as Title (TI), Abstract (AB), Keyword (KW), Full Text (TX), Caption Text (CT) and References (RF) as well as the use of Boolean (OR, AND, NOT), Proximity (ADJ / ADJn) and Frequency (FREQ) operators. 

In this module we shall look at how the Ovid Advanced Search mode also presents users with simple prompt-backed template to be able to run straight forward, yet precise search queries. The four search options and their prompts offered by the Advanced Search search template are,

• Keyword – Enter keyword or phrase (* or $ for truncation).
• Author – Enter Author’ last name, a space, and first initial if known.
• Title – Enter title word or phrase to search.
• Journal – Enter the first few letters of a full journal name; no abbreviations.

The following structured example illustrates how each of the four prompt-supported template modes can be used.

Instructions:

1. Logon to Ovid, select Journals@Ovid <To Present>, select the Advanced Search.
    
2. Select Keyword mode (this is usually the default setting) and enter the search ‘discontinuing disease-modifying therapies in multiple sclerosis’. Press Enter upon which Ovid will run a regular .mp search using the terms and phrases provided.
    
3. Alternatively select Author mode and enter the search ‘androdias, geraline’. Press Enter upon which Ovid will firstly locate the author in the respective index. If this is the author you are looking for click on SEARCH FOR SELECTED TERMS to continue.
    
4. Alternatively select Title mode and enter as a search the full article title  ‘De-escalating and discontinuing disease-modifying therapies in multiple sclerosis’. Press Enter upon which Ovid will run a regular .m_titl. search using the information provided.
    
5. Alternatively select Journal mode and enter the search ‘Brain’. Press Enter upon which Ovid will firstly locate the journal title in the respective index. If this is the journal title you are looking for click on SEARCH FOR SELECTED TERMS to continue.
    
6. Alternatively, having not yet logged on,  <Click here> to run this focused search above in Ovid.
    

discontinuing disease-modifying therapies in multiple sclerosis.mp. [mp=title, abstract, full text, caption text]
androdias geraldine.au.
(De-escalating and discontinuing disease-modifying therapies in multiple sclerosis).m_titl.
brain.jn.
 

Questions:

1. How would you amend the search in line #1 to cover all fields?
2. How would using just ‘androdias g’ in line #2 impact your results?
3. How many other journals are there where ‘Brain’ is part of their title?

Strategy

discontinuing disease-modifying therapies in multiple sclerosis.mp. [mp=title, abstract, full text, caption text]
androdias geraldine.au.
(De-escalating and discontinuing disease-modifying therapies in multiple sclerosis).m_titl.
brain.jn.
 

How to use Ovid’s Advanced Search mode to search in Journals@Ovid on specific database fields, i.e. Title (TI), Abstract (AB) and Keyword (KW).

Background

Journals@Ovid is an aggregated online database of all the journals available via the Ovid platform. These journals are from a variety of sources, principally, Lippincott®, Williams & Wilkins (LWW), from societies as well as from partnering publishers. The actual journals in full-text that you have access to will depend upon the selection of journal packages (2), groups of journals or individual publications your institution has subscribed to. Be sure to check with your librarian.

Accessible via the Ovid platform, collections of full-text journals as well as single publications can be searched on and across using Ovid's powerful search functionality. Journal content can be displayed and retrieved in PDF format. Or alternatively in the browser-based Ovid Full Text format, which in turn facilitates targeted navigation through the journal's content using the Outline feature. This format also enables the provision of information sharing and export via Tools. 

Journals@Ovid – Facts and Figures (1)

• Journals@Ovid is an aggregated online database of hundreds of scientific, technical, and medical journals.
• The Ovid Full Text Collections are subsets of journals combined for local access.
• The journals covered are from over 50 publishers and societies.
• Each journal is nevertheless available by individual subscription.
• Purchase of any of Ovid's Full Text journals, provides access to all the bibliographic citations in the database.
• The bibliographic citation information includes the title, references and abstract (where available) for each database record, all of which are searchable.

Training Session Programme

This Learning Pathway series of training modules draws upon the content and teaching approaches in and behind the learning resource OvidGO! (3). Constructed around a selection of focused searches, the training programme has been designed to achieve the following two objectives,

1. to introduce the database, Journals@Ovid, drawing upon where helpful, parallels and comparisons with Ovid MEDLINE,
2. to discuss, demonstrate and practice the key features and functionality of the database Journals@Ovid. 

(1). Journals@Ovid Database Guide
https://ovidsp.dc1.ovid.com/ovid-new-b/ovidweb.cgi?&S=876bba95-4fa0-485f-95c9-386b9ccfaab1%7cmain&Database+Field+Guide=53

(2). Journals@Ovid
https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/ovid/platforms-products/journals

(3). OvidGO! Learning Resource
https://tools.ovid.com/ovidgo/

The database record of a journal article, of the type on Journals@Ovid, is made up of sub-units of information that correspond to equivalent items of information that make up the journal publication itself. So for example, journal articles usually carry a title. This information will be indexed in the database record of the article under an item called ‘Title’. This item of information is also referred to as a database or ‘field’. In the case of ‘Title’ it also has the abbreviation ‘TI’ for both display and reference purposes. In the context of actively searching however, the abbreviation, TI (regardless of upper or lower case) placed between periods, i.e. .ti. after a term, as in diabetes.ti. becomes a command. In this case, the instruction to Ovid being, find all the occurrences of the term ‘diabetes’ in the Title field of the database, Journals @Ovid.

Field searching on Ovid is a very effective and reliable way to locate and target information within a repository of millions of documents. Search queries can be made up of a variety of such database fields which can also be used singularly or in combinations.

This Focused Search introduces and demonstrates three of the most commonly used database field searches in Journals@Ovid.   

TITLE (TI)
The Title (TI) field contains the English language version of the title as it appears in the journal. Small words in the title such as "of" or "the" display in documents but do not appear in the title index. That said, the word "a", which is a ‘stopword’ in other fields, can be searched in the title field.

ABSTRACT (AB)
The journal publication’s abstract is captured in the database’s Abstract (AB) field and usually summarises the content of the document and generally describes the background, methods, results, and conclusions. Both English and foreign language abstracts are searchable using AB in the format  term.ab. Similarly, small words such as "of" or "the" display in documents but are not searchable and do not appear in the Abstract (AB) index.

KEYWORD (KW)
When authors assign keywords to their publication, these keywords are captured in the database field Author Keywords which has the abbreviation ‘KW’. This field exists only for documents where the author has specifically assigned keywords.
 

Points to note:

• Ovid is able to search for complete phrases just as well as single words, specific terms or abbreviations.
• Singular and/or plural forms of words can be captured using special characters called wildcards. So, for example in the expression literac$.ti. , the $ character instructs Ovid to look for both ‘literacy’ and ‘literacies’ in the titles of journals.
• Fields can be strung together in a search expression to tell Ovid to look for the term or terms in the fields as stated. So, for example diabetes.ti,ab,kw. will search for the word ‘diabetes’ in the fields, title, abstract and keyword – all in one search.
• Built up systematically, search expressions can then be combined using the Boolean operators for more specific results.
• In time, with experience and practice you can also enter all the component parts of the search, i.e. the terms and phrases together with the required fields as commands - all in one search expression.
   

Instructions:

1. Logon to Ovid, select Journals@Ovid <To Present>, select the Advanced Search / Keyword mode.
2. Enter the search lines for this focused search as listed below.
3. Alternatively, having not yet logged on,  <Click here> to run this focused search above in Ovid.
    

literacy.ti. [Entry term(s): Single word]
literac$.ti.
(health and literac$).ti.
(health and literac$).ti,ab.
(health and literac$).ti,ab,kw.
information overload.ti. [Entry term(s): Single phrase]
information overload.ab.
information overload.kw.
information overload.ti,ab.
information overload.ti,ab,kw.
5 and 10 [Entry term(s): Combination of previous concepts]
(health and literac$ and information overload).ti,ab,kw.
 

Questions:

1. Do all the documents in your final results’ set contain an abstract?
2. If not, how could you isolate these specific documents?
3. Would your search run equally well in Ovid MEDLINE? If so, why?

Strategy

literacy.ti. [Entry term(s): Single word]
literac$.ti.
(health and literac$).ti.
(health and literac$).ti,ab.
(health and literac$).ti,ab,kw.
information overload.ti. [Entry term(s): Single phrase]
information overload.ab.
information overload.kw.
information overload.ti,ab.
information overload.ti,ab,kw.
5 and 10 [Entry term(s): Combination of previous concepts]
(health and literac$ and information overload).ti,ab,kw.

 

How to carry out targeted searching in Ovid’s Journals@Ovid full-text database using the two proximity operators ADJ and ADJn as well as the frequency operator FREQ.

Background

Journals@Ovid is an aggregated online database of all the journals available via the Ovid platform. These journals are from a variety of sources, principally, Lippincott®, Williams & Wilkins (LWW), from societies as well as from partnering publishers. The actual journals in full-text that you have access to will depend upon the selection of journal packages (2), groups of journals or individual publications your institution has subscribed to. Be sure to check with your librarian.

Accessible via the Ovid platform, collections of full-text journals as well as single publications can be searched on and across using Ovid's powerful search functionality. Journal content can be displayed and retrieved in PDF format. Or alternatively in the browser-based Ovid Full Text format, which in turn facilitates targeted navigation through the journal's content using the Outline feature. This format also enables the provision of information sharing and export via Tools. 

Journals@Ovid – Facts and Figures (1)

• Journals@Ovid is an aggregated online database of hundreds of scientific, technical, and medical journals.
• The Ovid Full Text Collections are subsets of journals combined for local access.
• The journals covered are from over 50 publishers and societies.
• Each journal is nevertheless available by individual subscription.
• Purchase of any of Ovid's Full Text journals, provides access to all the bibliographic citations in the database.
• The bibliographic citation information includes the title, references and abstract (where available) for each database record, all of which are searchable.

Training Session Programme

This Learning Pathway series of training modules draws upon the content and teaching approaches in and behind the learning resource OvidGO! (3). Constructed around a selection of focused searches, the training programme has been designed to achieve the following two objectives,

1. to introduce the database, Journals@Ovid, drawing upon where helpful, parallels and comparisons with Ovid MEDLINE,
2. to discuss, demonstrate and practice the key features and functionality of the database Journals@Ovid. 

(1). Journals@Ovid Database Guide
https://ovidsp.dc1.ovid.com/ovid-new-b/ovidweb.cgi?&S=876bba95-4fa0-485f-95c9-386b9ccfaab1%7cmain&Database+Field+Guide=53

(2). Journals@Ovid
https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/ovid/platforms-products/journals

(3). OvidGO! Learning Resource
https://tools.ovid.com/ovidgo/

This Focused Search looks at three database fields that in their combination can be used to good effect on a full-text information resource like Journals@Ovid. The first of these is the database field, Full-Text (TX).  A part of the overall database record, this field effectively captures the complete document text and by doing so distinguishes Journal@Ovid from purely bibliographic databases like Ovid MEDLINE and Embase on Ovid. These latter databases capture bibliographic information about the full-text document as opposed to the actual full-text of the document itself. When possible, this is made available through a second stage link out process, e.g. via Ovid Linksolver, DOI reference etc.

The other two database fields being looked at in this module are the Proximity Operators (ADJ / ADJn) and the Frequency Operator (FREQ). While both of these operators can also be used with the bibliographic databases, for example on the Abstract (AB) field, they have a particular use and hence value when employed in conjunction with content rich full-text resources.

FULL-TEXT (TX)
“The Full Text (TX) field contains the complete document text. This field allows you to retrieve all documents with any mention of your search term. Because authors are more likely to use synonyms in the text field, or often include relevant information on a topic that is secondary to the main topic of the paper, you will find much more complete results by using the full text instead of just the title and abstract.

Note: TX searches only the full text part of the article, and only the parts of the full text that are not included in other fields. All bibliographic information, such as title and author, abstract, references, and caption text are all indexed in other fields. Therefore, they are not searchable in the TX field.

Stopwords, which include commonly occurring words such as "of" and "the" display in the documents but do not appear in the Full Text index.” (1) [Ed. – Emphasis added]

PROXIMITY OPERATORS (ADJ/ADJn)
“The Adjacent operator (ADJ) retrieves records with search terms next to each other. You do not need to separate search terms manually by inserting ADJ between them, because when you separate terms with a space on the command line, Ovid automatically searches for the terms adjacent to one another. For example, the search blood pressure is identical to the search blood adj pressure.

The defined adjacency operator (ADJn) retrieves records that contain search terms within a specified number (n) of words from each other in any order. To use the adjacency operator, separate your search terms with ADJ and a number from 1 to 99. For example, the search physician adj5 relationship retrieves records that contain the words physician and relationship within five words of each other in either direction. This particular search retrieves records containing such phrases as physician patient relationship, patient physician relationship, or relationship of the physician to the patient.” (1)

FREQUENCY OPERATOR (FREQ)
“The frequency operator (FREQ) lets you specify a threshold of occurrence of a term in the records retrieved from your search. Records containing your search term are retrieved only if the term occurs at least the specified (n) number of times. In general, records that contain many instances of your search term are more relevant than records that contain fewer instances. The frequency operator is particularly useful when searching a text field, such as Abstract or Full Text, for a common word or phrase.” (1)
 

Points to note:

• The ‘docz.dz’ command retrieves the number of database records in the target database and, in this case, i.e. Journals@Ovid, not the number of journals being consulted.
• The defined Proximity Operator (ADJn) is best used when singular and simple expressions are given on either side of the operator.
• When conducting phrase searching using the Advanced Search mode, Ovid ignores the hyphen character (-) and treats it as it would a blank space, so the searches ‘drug-eluting coronary stent*.af.’ and ‘drug eluting coronary stent*.af.’ will yield the same number of results .
   

Instructions:

1. Logon to Ovid, select Journals@Ovid <To Present>, select the Advanced Search / Keyword mode.
2. Enter the search lines for this focused search as listed below.
3. Alternatively, having not yet logged on,  <Click here> to run this focused search above in Ovid.
    

docz.dz.
Acknowledgements.tx.
ChatGPT.au.
(Acknowledgements adj31 ChatGPT).tx.
(Acknowledgements adj31 ChatGPT$).tx.
(Acknowledgements adj31 (ChatGPT$ or GPT$)).tx.
(Acknowledgements adj31 (ChatGPT or GPT or Microsoft Copilot or Google Gemini or PaLM or Claude or Llama$ or Sagemaker or AJAX or DALL or Midjourney or Stable Diffusion or LLM or Large Language Model)).tx.
drug-eluting coronary stent*.af.
drug-eluting coronary stent*.mp.
drug-eluting coronary stent*.tx. /freq=5
 

Questions:

1. How many journals have you searched across? How would you know?
2. How could you add further names of AI-systems to the existing line #7?
3. Predict what will happen if you were to run the search in Ovid MEDLINE.

Strategy

docz.dz.
Acknowledgements.tx.
ChatGPT.au.
(Acknowledgements adj31 ChatGPT).tx.
(Acknowledgements adj31 ChatGPT$).tx.
(Acknowledgements adj31 (ChatGPT$ or GPT$)).tx.
(Acknowledgements adj31 (ChatGPT or GPT or Microsoft Copilot or Google Gemini or PaLM or Claude or Llama$ or Sagemaker or AJAX or DALL or Midjourney or Stable Diffusion or LLM or Large Language Model)).tx.
drug-eluting coronary stent*.af.
drug-eluting coronary stent*.mp.
drug-eluting coronary stent*.tx. /freq=5