Health Policy and Management Fieldwork I: HPM 9289

Health outcome related

Technology, engineering (design and devices)

Health policies and administration (business angle)

Several library databases have a way to filter search results for empirical methodologies. Try the techniques in bold in the following databases, in combination with other search terms for the topic you are researching. 

It is also useful to search for the controlled vocabulary in the thesaurus or subject headings of the databases and use those terms and variants in searching. Look up a research method or search using terms like empirical, qualitative, quantitative, evaluation, correlation, intervention, or observation or browse by available categories.  The Cochrane Library also has suggested Search strategies to identify observational studies in MEDLINE and Embase that can be used for other sources as well. 

For databases and search engines without a methodology filter, such as Web of Science and Google Scholar, try (1) copying and pasting one or more of the types of studies listed for the Sociological Abstracts database or enter "study" to be broad with your search terms; and (2) include the operator AND (e.g. ("domestic violence" OR "intimate partner violence") AND study).

Left image: Methodology filter on the search form  Right image: Methodology filter within Refine Results

Embase also has MEDLINE records. 
In the results filters, look at Study types, and check the ones you want, such as controlled study, case report, retrospective study, cohort analysis, cross sectional study, systematic review, comparative study, prospective study, interview, longitudinal study, randomized controlled trial, observational study, meta analysis, qualitative research, semi structured interview, pilot study. Read also about General Study Types Hedges 

Platform-wide thesaurus and subjects

The ProQuest and EBSCOhost interface or platforms (multi-disciplinary database aggregators) provide full-text access, each has a platform-wide thesaurus that applies to ALL of its databases.

• ProQuest Thesaurus on ProQuest Social Science Premium and ProQuest Central (all collections).
  • Learn more with ProQuest platform thesaurus video and Proquest transcript.
  • Browse ProQuest list of databases or select change databases within the platform
  • ABI/INFORM database collection also uses the Proquest Thesaurus
• EBSCOhost thesaurus.
  • Learn more with  Browse Subject Terms Tutorial video, and EBSCOhost advanced search video

Gale has platform-wide subjects (located top right). There is also Topic Finder.  Its multi-subjects database is Academic OneFile.

Specialized thesaurus

These thesauri are useful for Social Work and may be viewed on the website or platform.  Temple AccessNet ID is required to access ProQuest databases.

• Social Services Abstract - ProQuest:  Sociological Thesaurus
• PubMed: Medical Subject Headings (MeSH).
  • MeSH tutorials and videos
• ERIC (Education Resources Information Center)
  • ERIC Thesaurus FAQ and ERIC Thesaurus video

In addition to Library Search and talking with Subject Librarians, use the library research guides (or LibGuides), databases and resources listed on this page to search and identify journal articles, books, book chapters and other publications for health management information.

1. Use all relevant terms or keywords and, if available, the database controlled vocabulary ( thesaurus, subject headings, descriptors) in advanced search.
   • Subject dictionaries, thesauri, and Credo Reference can help identify concepts and words for searching. 
   • Systematic reviews, scoping reviews and other types of evidence syntheses, and protocols are a good source for identifying relevant terms: Prospero, Campbell Collaboration Online Library, and Cochrane Library
   • PubMed has Automatic Term Mapping, matching user terms to the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
   • Web of Science has subject categories and meso topics
   • Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) can be used to identify synonyms and variant terms.
      
2. Search one concept at a time and then combine them using "AND" or "OR".  Parentheses can be used to specify the search order for operators in a search string.  If not, for example, in ProQuest, the order is PRE, NEAR, AND, OR, NOT.
    
3. Use database fields and filters, such as Date, Peer-Reviewed, Source Type, and Methodology  to focus and narrow your search.
    
4. Use database guides, tutorials, search tips, tools, and help to efficiently search, filter, save/download, cite and more.
   • Main database platform guides:  ProQuest, EBSCOhost, PubMed,  Embase, Web of Science, Gale, ERIC, GovInfo
   • For Temple Libraries tutorials and upcoming workshops:  Enter the database name or other search term in Library Search and look at results under Library Website.
   • Use library research guides for courses and subjects to identify relevant databases and resources. Relevant guides may also appear in Library Search results (scroll down to locate them).
   • Google Search Tips: List of Operators
      
5. Follow linkages, such as subject, keyword, author, title or series, organization links and links to Similar Titles, Citations or Cited By, References, and More Like This.
   • Use tools like Google Scholar and Web of Science Cited Reference Search 
      
6. Register/Create account and login to save your search history and create alerts.
    
7. Select the Find Full Text links to get the entire source for non-full text indexing databases.
   Link Google Scholar to Temple libraries so that the Find Full-Text @ Temple links will always appear. Go to our customized settings screen, check off Temple University Libraries link, and click Save. Also put a bookmarklet in your browser.
    
8. To save time, search the entire ProQuest Central collection, which includes the Public Health database.
   Some database specific advanced filtering capability and thesaurus terms may not be available.
    
9. Use Browzine to browse and read Public Health scholarly articles.
   To create an account with the Browzine App, select Temple University and login with your AccesNet ID.
    
10. Target Core Journals and search all relevant databases.

• Use Library Search and Ulrich's Periodical Directory to look up journal titles and the databases to access them.
• Use Scimago Journal & Country Rank or Web of Science Journal Citation Reports to view rankings and journals impact factor.