Learning objectives
The course sets out to enable students to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for independently conducting exhaustive bibliographic research on their dissertation topic. By the end of the course students will be able: <br />
1. to select the most appropriate information sources for carrying out their own research; <br />
2. to carry out searches of the main available sources in electronic format (catalogues and bibliographic databases, with particular reference to PubMed); <br />
3. to find the original document in electronic format using the quickest, cheapest procedures. <br />
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of English.
Course unit content
Sources of information in medicine. <br />
Scientific communication. <br />
Scientific periodicals. <br />
Structure of a scientific article. <br />
Bibliographic citations. <br />
Secondary information sources. <br />
Instruments for accessing primary documents: catalogues and bibliographic databases. <br />
Searching OPACs. <br />
Structure of an OPAC. <br />
Query methods. <br />
Electronic periodicals: what they are, how to consult them. <br />
SFX: the catalogue of electronic periodicals. <br />
From bibliographic citation to full-text. <br />
Philosophy and structure of a bibliographic database: Medline. <br />
Structure of a record. <br />
Free-term searches. <br />
Thesaurus-based searches. <br />
Boolean operators. <br />
Search methods and strategies. <br />
<br />
Full programme
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Bibliography
No specific textbook is used.
Teaching methods
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Other information
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