Hello! Thank you all for your suggestions on the importance of reading MeSH Scope Notes. They are listed below:
Concept: exercise
Searcher should use Exercise and OR it with Exp Sports; explode Sports to include walking, jogging, weight lifting, etc. A cautious searcher may wish to OR those MeSH with this MeSH, Exercise Movement Techniques.
Concept: acupuncture for patients
Searcher should use Acupuncture Therapy, which is the actual use of this modality because Acupuncture is merely the profession of acupuncture.
Concept: digitalis as a medicine for heart failure
Searcher should use exp Digitalis Glycosides, which are the drugs derived from the Digitalis plant genus because Digitalis is just the genus of this medicinal plant. However, to be sure of getting results that may have been improperly indexed, a cautious searcher may choose to OR these MeSH.
Concept: physical therapy treatment for patients
Searcher should use exp Physical Therapy Techniques, which will include the PT modalities (when the MeSH is exploded). Physical Therapy (Speciality) is just profession of physical therapy.
Concept: cancer medications--most people search with "chemotherapy," which maps to "drug therapy." If the searcher had searched with "cancer drugs," MEDLINE would've properly mapped to "antineoplastic agents."
Searcher should use exp Antineoplastic Agents, which will include all these cancer drugs (when the MeSH is exploded if using Ovid--if using PubMed, OR this MeSH with Antineoplastic Agents [Pharmacological Action] to get all the cancer drugs). Drug Therapy generally does NOT retrieve the types of citations the searcher wants.
Concept: calcium supplements for patients.
Searcher should use Dietary Calcium. However, a cautious searcher may wish to OR this term with (Dietary Supplements AND Calcium).
Concept: x-rays for diagnosis.
Searcher should use Radiography (explode, if desired). X-Rays is the radiation itself.
Concept: epidemiology of a disease
Searcher should attach the epidemiology subheading to the disease of interest. The MeSH Epidemiology is merely the profession of epidemiology.
I also have them hotlinked from http://www.geocities.com/nqiya/NeatMeSH.html#CommonMistakes. If the number of visitors exceed the site and you can't get in, wait an hour or so and try again. Please feel free to forward this email to others.
Take care,
Tanya
Tanya Feddern, MLIS, AHIP, MOT, OTR/L
http://www.geocities.com/nqiya/EBMbib.html
http://www.geocities.com/nqiya/index.html
Evidence-Based Medicine Assistant Professor; Reference & Education Services Librarian
University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Louis Calder Memorial Library
-----Original Message-----
From: UK medical/ health care library community / information workers
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Feddern, Tanya
Sent: 07 January 2005 19:04
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Examples: Importance of reading MeSH Scope Notes
***cross-posted***
Here's some examples that illustrate the importance of reading the Scope
Notes for MeSH terms that you can use for your classes:
X-Rays (Scope notes that for x-ray diagnosis, use Radiography instead)
Acupuncture (Scope notes that this is the discipline, not to be confused
with Acupuncture Therapy)
I also like to use exercise as an example. Physicians usually expect
exercise to be done by running, walking, jogging, weight lifting, etc.,
so I recommend searching with these MeSH: (Exercise or exp Sports). The
Scope Note for Sports may not seem relevant at first, but the Tree shows
what it encompasses.
If anyone knows of any other good examples like these, please let me
know.
Take care,
Tanya
Tanya Feddern, MLIS, AHIP, MOT, OTR/L
http://www.geocities.com/nqiya/EBMbib.html
http://www.geocities.com/nqiya/index.html
Evidence-Based Medicine Assistant Professor; Reference & Education
Services
Librarian University of Miami School of Medicine, Louis Calder Memorial
Library
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