At 11:01 07/05/99 +0100, [log in to unmask] wrote:
>Is anyone using Refman version 9? If so, is it worth me upgrading from
>version 8? Do people think that the ability to search "Internet Libraries"
>eg PubMed using the Internet searching tool will be of benefit?
>
>Thanks
>
>John Hampson
John,
the 'Internet Reference Searcher' facility is useful on a number of levels.
The obvious pro for the biomedical community is the ability to seamlessly
search PubMed (and a range of international library catalogues) using the
program, instantly importing and creating RM databases. Versions 8.5 and 9
also allow direct import from the Web of Science service, which will be a
crowd puller when it is launched in the academic community later this year.
However, if you are trying to promote effective search strategy formulation
in your organisation, this one-stop WWW import facility really offers
lowest common denominator searching, using a retrieval interface that pales
in comparison with an intuitive facility like the OVID WWW service. For
hard and fast searching and importing it is a convenience tool.
WWW integration is a common trend in all of the major PBS players, Procite,
Endnote and Reference Manager (all incidentally now part of ISI's extensive
portfolio!). I am hard put to see the need to search over 300 Internet
libraries simultaneously at a time when it is increasingly difficult to
evaluate and manage the increasing deluge of information that is available.
A useful comparison could be made here with internet search engines. I'd be
wary, on occasion, of using a meta search engine because it removes the
ability to execute a decent advanced search over multiple databases.
There is still a myopic tendency amongst the some quarters of the
biomedical community to believe that 'if it's not on Medline then it
doesn't exist'. This convenience tool exploits that misconception, and
diverts the attention of the researcher from the vast range of
complementary bibliographic resources that are available.
Incidentally, I am a great fan of the RM package for many reasons:
excellent database management facilities (consistency and integrity
functions like author and keyword synonym options); networking option with
multiple read/write access, for example. My V9 is in the post, if only to
keep up with the Jones' :-)
Gary Horrocks
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Gary Horrocks
Library Services
Guy's, King's & St. Thomas' Schools of
Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Weston Education Centre
Cutcombe Road, London, SE5 9PJ
Tel: 0171 848 5557 Fax: 0171 848 5550
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/medlib
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