Focused Searches - OvidGO!

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,

to introduce the database, Journals@Ovid, drawing upon where helpful, parallels and comparisons with Ovid MEDLINE,
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:

Logon to Ovid, select Journals@Ovid , select the Advanced Search / Keyword mode.
Enter the search lines for this focused search as listed below.
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:

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

Search Stategy

`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`

Launch Search

Reviewers

Primary: Michael Fanning

Secondary: Charlotte Viken

Review Date: 2025-05-19

Expiry Date: 2026-05-19

Original search produced by:

Ovid Training Team

References:

OvidGO! / Skills Videos / General Introduction
What is a bibliographic database?
What is the structure of a database?
What is Ovid MEDLINE?
What are Boolean Operators?
What are wildcards?
Subject heading searching

Citation: