Health Sciences Tutorials

These tutorial links are provided to assist students, staff and faculty learning to search MEDLINE and other biomedical databases. There are also links to tutorials on information research and software/hardware.

PLEASE NOTE: The tutorials listed below have been developed by many different educational institutions. Please be aware that they may make references to resources that are not owned or subscribed to by the University Libraries system.

Database Tutorials Beilstein Crossfire BIOSIS Previews CINAHL Evidence Based Medicine Cochrane Library LexisNexis Academic MDConsult MEDLINE Micromedex NCBI Databases OT Search PsycINFO PubMed Science Citation Index SciFinder Scholar

Information Research Tutorials Boolean Internet Library Research

Software/PDAs Tutorials EndNote Excel PDAs PowerPoint RefWorks

DATABASE Tutorials

BEILSTEIN CROSSFIRE

Beilstein CrossFire Tutorial (University of Pennsylvania Library)
http://gethelp.library.upenn.edu/guides/tutorials/scitech/beilstein/
This interactive tutorial aims to answer the following questions:

• What is Beilstein CrossFire?
• Why should I use Beilstein CrossFire?
• How do I get Beilstein CrossFire on my computer?
• How do I search using Beilstein CrossFire?(Interactive tutorial, explaining basic search techniques)
• Where can I get additional information about searching Beilstein CrossFire? (Links to other tutorials and information sheets)

BIOSIS PREVIEWS

Tutorial Movies: OVID-BIOSIS (Marian Koshland Bioscience & Natural Resources Library, University of Berkeley)
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/BIOS/media/
Series of three short videos (1½ minutes to 3 minutes in length).

• OVID-BIOSIS: Combining Author & Keyword Searches
  http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/BIOS/media/aukw.html
• OVID-BIOSIS: Author Searching
• OVID-BIOSIS: Advanced Subject Searching

CINAHL

Getting Started in CINAHL (Edith Cowen University)
http://www.ecu.edu.au/library/liberty/subject/nur00002.html
The following tutorial takes you through a step by step approach to searching the OVID version of CINAHL

How to use CINHAL via Ovid (Monash University Library)
http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/vl/cinahl/cincon.htm
In this tutorial you will be introduced to the CINAHL database, which uses OVID software. You will learn how to:

• access CINAHL
• search in the database
• view and understand a record
• save what you've found

EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE

Elements of a Research Study (The Psychology Tutor)
http://www.psy.pdx.edu/PsyTutor/Tutorials/Research/Elements/index.htm
This tutorial is organized into four parts:

• Part I: The Hypothesis
• Part II: The Participants
• Part III: The Measure
• Part IV: The Design

Evidence Based Medicine Tool Kit (University of Alberta)
http://www.med.ualberta.ca/ebm/ebm.htm
"This is a collection of tools for identifying, assessing and applying relevant evidence for better health care decision-making. The appraisal tools are adapted from the Users' Guides series prepared by the Evidence Based Medicine Working Group and originally published in JAMA"

Evidence-Based Medicine Tutorials (Lamar Soutter Library UMass Medical School)
http://library.umassmed.edu/EBM/tutorials/
After completing these exercises you should be able to:

• Define a Clinical Question
• Translate a Clinical Question into a Searchable Question
• Decide on the Best Type of Study to Address the Question
• Perform a Literature Search

Introduction to Evidence-Based Medicine, 3rd ed. (Duke University Medical Center Library and Health Sciences Library, UNC-Chapel Hill)
http://www.hsl.unc.edu/services/tutorials/ebm/index.htm
Welcome to this introduction to the process of Evidence-Based Medicine. This tutorial is intended for any health care practitioner or student who needs a basic introduction to the principles of Evidence-Based Medicine.
Upon completion of this self-paced tutorial, you will be able to:

• define Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM)
• based on a patient problem, construct a well-built clinical question
• identify searching strategies that could improve MEDLINE retrieval
• identify key issues that help determine the validity of evidence

Modules to Practice Evidence Based Health Care (Bio-Medical Library, University of Minnesota)
http://evidence.ahc.umn.edu/modules_to_practice.htm
The goal of this module section is to introduce skills needed to practice evidence-based health care. The skills to be covered include question development, sophisticated searching of MEDLINE and other databases to find clinically relevant material, critical appraisal of the literature, and use of statistical methods to apply the evidence to specific patient situations. Learners in all phases of their education will be targeted, including undergraduates, graduate students, students in the professional schools, residents, and fellows.

NICS Guide to the Cochrane Library (National Institute of Clinical Studies & the Australasian Cochrane Centre)
http://www.nicsl.com.au/cochrane/index.asp
The NICS has prepared this Guide to help you get the most from the Cochrane Library. As you move through the Guide, you'll find out about the purpose of the Library, who compiles it, the kind of information it contains, and how to search it.

A Student's Guide to the Medical Literature (Denison Memorial Library, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.)
http://denison.uchsc.edu/SG/index.html
This site has been designed especially for medical students, but it can be used by anyone who wants a guide to the medical literature. If you are having trouble researching a medical question, or want an easy guide to critical appraisal of journal articles, this is the site for you!
Some of the features of this site are:

• A Tutorial outlining a simple 4-step approach to reading medical literature
• Search Strategies with links to the best web sites
• A Guide to Critical Appraisal of journal articles with step-by-step explanation of the "User's Guide" approach
• An interactive Glossary with over 150 statistical terms hyperlinked to the text
• Calculators for finding relevant outcome measures from a study
• Student's Guide Pocket Version to use on your Palm or Pocket PC

User's Guides Interactive http://www.usersguides.org/
An online tool to guide clinicians in the appraisal and application of evidence into their everyday practice. Based on the popular Users' Guides series in JAMA, edited by Drs Gordon Guyatt, Drummond Rennie, and Robert Hayward with contributions from more than fifty of the most renowned evidence-based medicine (EBM) educators and practitioners in the world.
How do I access the UGI Learner site?

• Click on the Users' Guides logo on the left hand side of the JAMA and Archives Home Page, or book mark the opening page to the Users' Guides Interactive at http://www.userguides.org.
• Select the log-in icon at the top of the screen.
• If you have institutional access through your organization, you will be automatically transferred to the UGI Learner Web site.
• If you have an individual JAMA and/or Archives subscription, you can logon to the UGI Learner Web site using your username and password.
• If you own a copy of the Users' Guides book, you can register for a free trial of the UGI Learner. Once you have registered, you will receive a user name and password to use during the free trial period. Enter this username and password to log onto the UGI site.

LEXISNEXIS ACADEMIC

MDCONSULT

MD Consult Tutorial (Scott Memorial Library, Thomas Jefferson University)
http://jeffline.tju.edu/SML/helpaids/handouts/mdconsult/
Overview of MDConsult - navigating with MDConsult, searching, clinical knowledge section, patient handouts and News & Reports.

MEDLINE

MEDLINE Search Instructions (Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library)
http://www.gwumc.edu/library/tutorials/ovidmed
Covers search strategy, exploding/focusing, subheadings, combing, limiting, search fields and displaying results.

TYM (Teach Yourself MEDLINE) (Queen Mary, University of London)
http://www.mds.qmw.ac.uk/lib/tym.htm
Tym provides a 30-minute introduction to the Ovid Medline Web Gateway. Use Tym to:

• familiarize yourself with the Ovid search interface
• find out how to perform different types of searches, including subject, title and abstract searches
• learn how to display, print and save search results.

UM-MEDSEARCH Tutorial (University Library, University of Michigan)
http://www.lib.umich.edu/taubman/medsearch/tutorial/intro.html
This tutorial provides an introduction to the UM-MEDSEARCH interface starting with instructions on selecting the appropriate database and concluding with instructions on how to end a UM-MEDSEARCH session. To guide you through the search process, all examples will be based on the question: Does aspirin help in the prevention of heart disease?

Welcome to the BUMC MEDLINE Plus/OVID Tutorial (Boston University Medical Center Alumni Medical Library)
http://med-libwww.bu.edu/library/ovidtutorial/index.html
This interactive BUMC MEDLINE Plus/Ovid Tutorial is designed to show you step-by-step the basic components of a MEDLINE database search using the BUMC MEDLINE Plus/Ovid Web Gateway.

MICROMEDEX

MICROMEDEX Tutorial
http://www.micromedex.com/training/online_tutorials/hcs/modules/module_0/index.htm
This tutorial introduces you to the MICROMEDEX databases and provides you with the tools you will need to quickly find information. Whether you are a nurse, physician, or pharmacist, you can choose from the various modules contained within this tutorial to learn about those databases that will assist you most with your practice and providing the best care to your patients.

NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) Tutorials

BLAST Tutorial
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Education/BLASTinfo/tut1.html
This BLAST tutorial is designed to help both the novice and experienced BLAST user to set up and perform a BLAST search, decipher the output and analyze the results. The tutorial illustrates the potential for BLAST and PSI-BLAST searches to identify even weak (subtle) homologies to annotated entries in the database.

Cn3D 4.1 Tutorial http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Structure/CN3D/cn3dtut.shtml
This is a tutorial for Cn3D 4.1. It is intended as a guide to the major features of Cn3D for both new and experienced users.

QUERY Tutorial http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Education/BLASTinfo/query_tutorial.html
This online tutorial is designed to help the first time BLAST user. This tutorial will teach you to input a sequence into the Basic BLAST web page, choose a program and database, and examine the results.

OT SEARCH

OT Search Tutorials
http://www.aotf.org/html/tutorial.html
These online tutorials were developed to help you get familiar with OT Search basic searching techniques. They are divided into three courses:

• Simple OT Search Tutorial: In this primer course, you will be introduced to performing a keyword search, downloading selected records, and emailing your citations.
• Intermediate OT Search Tutorial: In this course, you will learn how to search by hot topic, subjects and thesaurus.
• Advanced OT Search Tutorial: This course will cover advanced techniques such as pattern matching, hyphenation, searching by thesaurus tree numbers, field qualification and proximity operators.
• You should be able to complete all three tutorials in about 15 minutes

PSYCINFO

How to Use PsycINFO via Ovid (Monash University Library)
http://www.lib.monash.edu.au/vl/psyin/psyincon.htm
In this tutorial you will be introduced to the PsycINFO database, which uses OVID software. You will learn how to:

• access PsycINFO
• search in databases
• view and understand a record
• save what I've found

PsycINFO Tutorial (Hilles Library of the Harvard College Library)
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~hilles/research/tutorials/psycinfo/index.html
In this tutorial, you will learn the following:

• Basic search strategies for using PsycINFO
• From citations found in PsycINFO,
  • how to locate full text journal articles directly from within PsycINFO [SFX]

PUBMED

PubMed Tutorial (National Library of Medicine)
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/pubmed_tutorial/m1001.html
Web-based learning program that will show you how to search PubMed®, the National Library of Medicine's (NLM™) journal literature search system. The PubMed Tutorial includes several different types of links that may be used to play the animations, pop up glossary terms, or visit another web page.

• There are two different kinds of animation links - Show Me and Demonstration Steps. When clicked, Show Me produce an animation of the process just discussed. Demonstration Steps will take you through the process step-by-step. You do not have to click on the Steps in chronological order, although it will make more sense to do so the first time around.
• Words and phrases that appear in blue and are underlined, are links to web sites such as other pages of the Tutorial or PubMed.
Words and phrases that appear in bold blue are glossary items and can be clicked to open a secondary window containing a definition. Should you want to view the entire Glossary, click the Glossary link in the Tutorial sidebar.

Click Next in the sidebar to learn how to navigate through the modules of the PubMed Tutorial or click on the PubMed Overview tab above to jump right into learning about PubMed

SCIENCE CITATION INDEX/WEB OF SCIENCE

ISI Web of Science (Science Citation Index) Tutorial
http://www.isinet.com/tutorials/wos6/
Welcome to the Web of Science version 6.0 tutorial. This tutorial will give you an overview of Web of Science and tips on searching its databases. It will also introduce you to the new Structure Search, which may or may not be available at your institution.

Comprehensive Cited Reference Searching: A Tutorial Using ISI Web of Science
http://www.isinet.com/tutorials/ccrs

Cited Reference Searching: An Introduction: A Tutorial Using ISI Web of Science
http://www.isinet.com/tutorials/citedreference/

SCIFINDER SCHOLAR

SciFinder Scholar Interactive Tutorial
http://www.cas.org/SCIFINDER/SCHOLAR/interact/
The SciFinder Scholar Interactive Tutorial contains the following sections:

• Databases, which provides a brief introduction to the content behind SciFinder Scholar. Key facts about each database are provided.
• Tutorial, which provides hands-on practice with each feature of the product interface

INFORMATION RESEACH TUTORIALS

BOOLEAN

Conducting Boolean Searches (Writing@CSU: Colorado State University)
http://writing.colostate.edu/demos/boolean/index.cfm
Boolean searching using Google.

Interactive Boolean Search Tutorial (New York Universities Library)
http://library.nyu.edu/research/tutorials/boolean/boolean.html
The purpose of this tutorial is to help you learn how to execute a Boolean search - so that your research process will become more efficient, your searches more precise.

INTERNET/WWW SEARCHING

Bare Bones 101: A BASIC TUTORIAL ON SEARCHING THE WEB (University of South Carolina Beaufort Library)
http://www.sc.edu/beaufort/library/pages/bones/bones.shtml
Self-paced Search Engine tutorial

ICYouSee: T is for Thinking - A Guide to Critical Thinking About What You See on the World Wide Web (Ithaca College Library)
http://www.ithaca.edu/library/training/think.html
Good overview on thinking critically about what can be found on the Internet. Includes examples and exercises.

Internet Detective: An Interactive Tutorial on Evaluating the Quality of Internet Resources (The Institute for Learning and Research Technology (ILRT) at the University of Bristol, the DESIRE project)
http://www.sosig.ac.uk/desire/internet-detective.html
Includes overviews, interactive quizzes, and working examples to teach users the key elements of "quality Internet information" and offers practical tips for evaluating a variety of online resources. Free registration is required to allow users to return to the site as necessary and work through the tutorial at their own pace.

Internet Navigator (Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah and the Utah Academic Library Consortium (UALC))
http://medstat.med.utah.edu/navigator/index.htm
The Internet Navigator is a Web delivered information literacy course. It teaches basic research techniques using libraries and the Internet. The course is intended for first year college and university students, high school students making the transition to higher education, or returning students who need to update their research skills.

net.TUTOR (Ohio State University)
http://gateway.lib.ohio-state.edu/tutor/
Offers interactive tutorials on basic tools and techniques for becoming an effective Internet researcher.

Searching the Internet Effectively (University of Wellington, Victoria, New Zealand)
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/staff/alastair_smith/searching/
Preparation, tools, directories, search engines, strategies and practical exercises.

Searching the Web (University of Canterbury, New Zealand)
http://library.canterbury.ac.nz/web/search/
On completion of this tutorial, you should be able to:

• Understand how Internet search engines work and what they cover
• Perform a basic search and learn techniques for improving your search results
• Know how to use 3 or 4 major search engines, and some metasearch engines
• Evaluate the information you find and cite it in bibliographies for assignments

Searching the World Wide Web: a basic tutorial (Tilberg University, Netherlands)
http://www.tilburguniversity.nl/services/library/instruction/www/onlinecourse/
In-depth overview of the Internet/World Wide Web.

LIBRARY RESEARCH TUTORIALS

CORE : Comprehensive Online Research Education (Purdue University)
http://core.lib.purdue.edu/
An interactive tutorial to guide you in developing an effective information strategy. Complete the entire tutorial or select modules relevant to your needs. Do not need to "login" to order to use the tutorial.

OASIS: Online Advancement of Student Information Skills (San Francisco State University)
http://oasis.sfsu.edu/
OASIS is a set of online lessons designed to help improve your skills at finding, using, and evaluating information of all kinds. The tutorial consists of eight chapters.

QuickStudy: Library Research Guide (University of Minnesota Libraries)
http://tutorial.lib.umn.edu/
A self-paced tutorial covering the research process at the University of Minnesota Libraries. It starts at selecting a topic for a paper and ends at citing sources for a bibliography.

Research BluePrint (University of Dayton Roesch Library)
http://library.udayton.edu/tutorial/
Research Blueprint is comprised of three tutorials.

• Selecting - English 101: This tutorial will focus on the different sources of information, where to find the resources, and how to choose the best ones for your research.
• Searching - English 102: This module covers topic selection, identification of keywords, and keyword search techniques.
• Citing Sources - English 103: This tutorial covers citing sources, plagiarism, and copyright Each tutorial takes about 30 minutes to complete. There are quizzes at the end of each tutorial.

TILT: Technological Information Literacy Tutorial (University of Texas System Digital Library)
http://tilt.lib.utsystem.edu/
"TILT is an award-winning information literacy tutorial written by librarians at the University of Texas. It will help you learn to use resources in almost any library, regardless of geographic location. It will also teach you fundamental concepts and skills that will be useful for any type of research you may do. TILT is a highly interactive tutorial that gives you the opportunity to quiz yourself to see if you understand the material presented."

SOFTWARE/PDA Tutorials

ENDNOTE

EndNote Tutorials [6.0](Australian Catholic University)
http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/endnote/entutorials.htm

• Introduction to EndNote for Windows
• Using EndNote in Conjunction With Databases
• Using EndNote in Conjunction With Word

Introduction to EndNote 7 (University of Queensland)
http://www.library.uq.edu.au/endnote/introtutorial7/
This tutorial aims to introduce you to the most important features of EndNote 7.

Teach Yourself to Create Output Styles using EndNote 6 (University of Queensland)
http://www.library.uq.edu.au/endnote/stylestutorial6/contents.html
This tutorial will take you through the steps required to create an output style using EndNote 6.0. We assume that you already possess a basic familiarity with EndNote and understand how an EndNote output style is used to format references in a paper.

EXCEL

Excel 2000 Tutorial (Florida Gulf Coast University)
http://www.fgcu.edu/support/office2000/excel/
Spreadsheet basics, customizing, formatting, formulas, functions, charts, graphics, sorting & filing.

POWERPOINT

Microsoft PowerPoint 2000: The Basics (St. Philip's College Technology Training Center, San Antonio TX)
http://www.accd.edu/spc/it/ttc/powerpt/default.htm
This tutorial is designed for users with little or no experience using Microsoft Office applications.
PowerPoint is a computer application of incredible depth. This tutorial will only touch on the basic knowledge necessary to create and deliver a presentation.

PowerPoint 2000 Tutorial (Florida Gulf Coast University)
http://www.fgcu.edu/support/office2000/ppt/index.html
Getting started, layout, adding content, text, graphics, color schemes, slide effects, saving and printing.

PDAs

How PDAs Work (HowStuffWorks.com)
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/pda.htm/printable
Good overview of the basics, parts and features of PDAs.

pdaMD.com Learning Center http://www.pdamd.com/vertical/tutorials.xml
The pdaMD.com Tutorials section is intended to provide valuable information and step-by-step instructions for all PDA users, from beginner to professional.

Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) Tutorial (Preston Medical Library, University of Tennessee)
http://gsm.utmck.edu/library/pda/tutorial/introduction.htm
The primary goal of this tutorial is to present a brief overview of PDA technology. This includes reviewing the basic functions of the Palm platform PDAs and discussing some differences between Palms and PocketPCs.

Your Visor and How To Use It (University of Minnesota Medical School)
http://www.meded.umn.edu/pda/pcc/index.htm
Welcome to "Your Visor and How to Use It." Its purpose is to orient you to your Visor Deluxe personal digital assistant (PDA) by providing you with the opportunity to explore it features. In addition there are several modules that lead you step-by-step through the process of using the various programs that are supplied with the PDA.

REFWORKS

RefWorks Tutorial (RefWorks.com)
http://www.refworks.com/tutorial/
RefWorks is a web-based product that allows individual users to manage bibliographic citations and to format citations using a wide variety of styles.