SVM LEADER Team
Veterinary Medical Library
Purdue University
LynnHall,
Rm 1133
West Lafayette, IN  47907
(765) 494-2853

Comments:
G. Stephens

A handout for the second lecture/demo in Fall Semester A&I, including further training materials and a summary of evaluating web resources.

Select a index database(s) to search:

CAB Abstracts  [indexes 2,380+ journals covering world’s veterinary literature]

Alternatives:

a)  PubMed  [indexes 90 veterinary journals]

b)  Web of Science [indexes 120+ veterinary journals]

Select terms or keywords to use in the search, for example:

hemolytic anemia        hemorrhage          rabies            liver
                    canis                     dogs             cattle
  treatment          diagnosis       therapy           prognosis      

Hints: CAB Abstracts is a British database so the “map to subject headings” box should be checked to find ‘best’ spelling for keywords such as “haemolytic anemia.”  In CAB, use “treatment,” but in PubMed use “therapy.”

Combine terms using AND or OR, for example:

rabies AND cattle AND diagnosis
hemolytic anemia AND dogs AND (treatment OR prognosis)

Review search results (including Abstract or Complete Reference) for relevance:

• Search results appear with newest journal articles first
• First line of journal citation is the title of the article, second is authors, and third is name of journal with year, volume, issue and page numbers.  Option to view abstract of article is available.

Limit search results using language or dates if necessary, for example:  

English   1995-2010

Review search results again, selecting desired articles and locating them in library or electronically

• To right of each journal citation, click on  to see if Purdue has e-access to the journal.
• To print or download selected article, select the PDF option.

Further examples of searching CAB Abstracts via OvidSP are found at: [http://www.cabi.org/default.aspx?site=170&page=2044]
Training videos are also available providing helpful tips on
using CAB Abstracts especially doing advanced searching:
[http://www.cabi.org/default.aspx?site=170&page=2198]

Evaluating Web Resources – “To Google or not to Google?”

  Currency – When was site developed, when updated, do links work? 
  Accuracy – Who wrote it and why, can you contact him?
  Authority / Reliability – What are the author(s)’ credentials & qualifications? 
  Objectivity / Purpose – What is site’s purpose, audience, bias?

       Further examples available at http://www.lib.purdue.edu/vetmed/inst/svmleader/evaluating.html

 9/7/11