MEDLINE from Lawrence W. Tyree Library on Vimeo.
Hello! This video tutorial will demonstrate how to find and read articles through the library database MEDLINE.
To access library databases, click the gray Databases button on the library's website.
MEDLINE with Full Text is listed alphabetically in the Library's database list. MEDLINE contains full-text articles from healthcare and medical journals. To access this database, click its title.
If prompted to log in, your user name is your SF ID number @sfcollege.edu. On the next screen, enter your college password. You may not see this screen if you are already logged in to Office 365 elsewhere.
This is MEDLINE's advanced search screen. Use the search boxes at the top of the screen to find articles about your topic. By default, all articles have the full text available.
When searching, break your research question or topic down into the main concepts, also known as keywords or keyword phrases. Type different concepts into different boxes. This helps the database find the most relevant results. For this example, I am researching how to improve patient flow in the emergency department. In the first box, type patient flow.
The second important part of my question is about the emergency department, so type that in the second box. As you type, you may see a drop-down box with suggested similar concepts you could use. Once you have typed your search terms, click Search.
The number of search results is listed at the top. By default, results are sorted by relevance; you can change this if you would like. The Refine Results toolbar will allow you to narrow your search by a date range, language, source type, and more.
The results list contains basic information about each article. Many results in MEDLINE will have the Academic Journal icon, which indicates that it is from a scholarly journal. Scholarly journals can sometimes be referred to as peer-reviewed, academic, or refereed.
The title of the article is in a large blue font. The line below shows more information about the article, including the author(s), the journal it is published in, and the date.
The Subjects line shows subject terms that describe the content of the article. You can use subjects in your search to improve the relevance of your results.
To quickly determine if an article may be useful for your research, hover over the icon with a magnifying glass to the right of the article title. This will pop up more information about the article, including the abstract, which is a summary of the article.
Direct links to the full text are also included. HTML Full Text is a text-only version of the article. PDF Full Text is an exact scan of the article as it was originally published.
As you research, be sure to keep track of all the sources you might use in your assignment. This screen shows the PDF full text of the article. There is a toolbar on the right side of the screen that includes sending it to Google Drive, OneDrive, a printer, or by email. If you are on your phone, you may need to click the icon with two arrows to expand this option.
The email option also allows you to send a citation along with the article; you can choose the Citation Format, including APA and MLA.
You can also see citations by clicking the gold paper icon.
You should always double-check all citations, as there are frequently errors with capitalization and punctuation. APA references often have errors with incorrect title capitalization, such as in this example. You will also need to remember to format your citation with a hanging indent and double spacing when you add it to your paper.
Another resource to ensure that your APA references are correct is the Library's APA guide. This can be found by going to Guides on the Library website, choosing Library How-To Guides, and then selecting the APA Citation Guide. This guide will provide guidelines and examples for citing a variety of sources. Click Article Examples to specifically see how journal articles should be cited.
This concludes the video tutorial on using MEDLINE. If you have any questions about using the database or citing articles in APA, please contact a librarian:
352-395-5409
reference@sfcollege.edu
Building Y, NW Campus
sfcollege.edu/library
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