This tutorial consists of a series of video modules and associated written guide.

The goal of this tutorial and written guide is to improve your ability to find and use library information. We will begin with basics of information access in Module 2. Modules 3, 4, and 5 will discuss the most important, basic, and difficult step of all: Translating your idea of the information you want to find into a searchable question. We will use a standardized approach to searching.

The next modules will introduce PubMed, the premiere biomedical database. We are going to frame this tutorial around a research question: Will electronic cigarettes lead to more people taking up tobacco smoking or will they help smokers quit? Our question: Are electronic cigarettes an effective tobacco cessation tool for current smokers? The corollary question is likely more important. We did not use: “Will never-smokers who try electronic cigarettes be more likely to become new tobacco users?” as the example. It is a much harder search to do well and not suited to those learning to search.

Tutorial Video Links

Note: Basics Module 1 has been omitted; this Tutorial begins with Basics Module 2.

Basics Module 2: Access to UCSF Library information, bookmarks, the bookmarklet, background and foreground resources

Basics Module 3: Identifying concepts to create a searchable question

Basics Module 4: Synonyms and punctuation 

Basics Module 5: Details about our search; Use the same approach to each database

PubMed Module 1: Set up a MyNCBI account

PubMed Module 2: Keywords and a bit of Syntax

Acknowledgements 

The original Scholarship Skills course was developed in 2015 by an inter-professional team of UCSF learners, staff, and faculty, and the development was supported by a grant from the UCSF Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators. This topic was developed in collaboration with the following individuals:

• Evans Whitaker,  Education/Reference Librarian, UCSF Library
• Anda Kuo, Associate Director, Curriculum, Pathway to Discovery in Health & Society, UCSF School of Medicine

Evans Whitaker has revised the content and launched the a new version 7/29/2018, and which was further modified for MS-HAIL use by Peter Wright.

The Noun Project served as the source for the icons on this web page. https://thenounproject.com/ Details of attribution found in minute print on each icon.

Royalty-free background music from Bensound www.bensound.com