Developing a code of practice for literature searching in health sciences: a project description

Developing a code of practice for literature searching in health sciences: a project description

Blog Article

Introduction: Libraries have provided mediated search services for more than forty years without a practice standard to guide the execution of searches, training of searchers, or evaluation of search performance.A pan-Canadian group of librarians completed a study of the literature on mediated search practices from 2014-2017 as a first step in addressing this deficit.Methods: We used a three-phase, six-part content analysis process to examine and analyze published guidance on literature searching.Card sorting, Delphi methods, and an online questionnaire sled shelf were then used to validate our findings and build a code of practice.Results: Our code of 5318008 calculator practice for mediated searching lists eighty-five search tasks arranged in performance order, within five progressive levels of search complexity.

A glossary of 150 search terms supports the code of practice.Discussion: The research literature on mediated search methods is sparse and fragmented, lacking currency and a shared vocabulary.A code of practice for mediated searching will provide clarity in terminology, approach, and methods.This code of practice will provide a unified and convenient reference for training a new hire, upholding standards of search service delivery, or educating the next wave of health library professionals.