HSM Library Matters

The Last Post

2013-09-18T16:23:00.002+10:00

The librarians at Bond are trying a new approach to our blogging practices, so this will be the last post for the HSM Library Matters blog!

From now on all the Faculty Librarians, myself included, will be posting news and other useful information on one Library blog, the L Files. This will be the one place to keep in touch with all library-related information, including updates relevant for Health Sciences and Medicine, so click that link! Once you've clicked you can subscribe on the right hand side. Join us on the L Files!

Should we pay attention to journal impact?

2013-08-07T14:45:00.000+10:00

The validity of the Impact Factor as a measure of journal quality (and also the quality of the articles contained therein) is increasingly being questioned. Should the academic community wean itself off this measure, essentially by paying it a lot less attention?

This article (and the discussion in the comments) captures some of the aspects of this issue quite well.

The Persistent Lure of the Impact Factor - Even for PLOS ONE

For those new to the discussion, the Impact Factor is a metric assigned to journals by Thomson Reuters. The Impact Factor of a journal for a given year is the average number of times its articles published in the preceeding two years have been cited that year. So the 2012 Impact Factor for a journal is the average number of times its 2010 and 2011 articles were cited in 2012. As it's based on citations, the Impact Factor is intended to be an indication of journal quality, and it is sometimes used to assess the quality of articles themselves (an article is published in a high impact journal, therefore it is high quality). Some of the objections to these uses are addressed in the article linked to above. It's an interesting issue and one with increasing prominence.

Journal Impact Factors can be found using Thomson Reuter's Journal Citation Reports. For more information about measuring research impact see this webpage, and feel free to get in touch.

Open access assists with cancer breakthrough

2013-06-26T09:40:00.000+10:00

Jake Andraka is a 16 year old from the US who's invented a new method for detecting pancreatic cancer that's being called 'potentially revolutionary'. To do it, he used lab time at John Hopkins School of Medicine, and whatever research articles he could get freely on the web - the following video makes some interesting points about the value of open access to research articles:

Open access to research publications is an increasingly prominent issue - both the Australian Research Council and National Health and Medical Research Council now mandate open access to publications which result from their funding (the US National Institutes of Health and Research Councils UK have similar requirements). If you're a researcher, Bond Library can help with this issue - Bond's research repository epublications@bond is one way to make your work instantly available on the web. Contact us for more information.

If you're a student, chances are you've come across the paywalls Jake talks about in that video. Again, the Library can help! Bond pays for access to a huge range of academic articles, and if we don't already have access we can usually get it.So don't pay money for articles - ask us!

Photo sharing for doctors

2013-06-14T09:42:00.000+10:00

Here's a fascinating idea which may be of interest to students and staff of HSM: crowdsourced photo-sharing for health professionals. A new iPhone app, called Figure 1, allows doctors and other health professionals to share photos of interesting medical cases they encounter. The medical images may be of things rarely seen, or of textbook examples of more common conditions - all allow health professionals to learn from the situations encountered by others around the world, which might otherwise never be seen.

There's a bit more information on Figure 1 in this article.

Try DynaMed until 14 July

2013-06-06T09:46:00.000+10:00

The library has currently arranged trial access to DynaMed, so you can get full access until 14 July. This resource will be of particular interest to medical students and staff.

DynaMed is a point-of-care tool, intended to provide evidence-based answers to clinical questions quickly and easily (similar to UpToDate, BMJ Best Practice, eTG Complete and many others). More information about DynaMed is available on their website.

Access DynaMed here (or you can search the Bond website for 'trials' to find it).

The library is currently considering whether DynaMed might be a useful option for Bond. Your feedback is very welcome, just send me an email.

This video will tell you nothing at all about DynaMed, but it's highly amusing (it does go on a bit long though). There's obviously some creative types in the Uni of Calgary medicine program:

Improved access to Trip database

2013-05-20T16:36:00.002+10:00

Many of you in the Health Sciences and Medicine will be familiar with the Trip database; it's a freely available clinical search engine for finding evidence to support practice/care.

Recently Trip announced some improvements to the way they link to the full-text of primary research articles, and the library has now set this up so it will work for Bond staff/students.

You need to have a free Trip account for this to work, so if you haven't already, click 'Sign up' on the top right. When creating your free account make sure you select Bond University as your institution.

If you already have a Trip account, log in and click Settings in the top right, and then select Bond University under Your Institutions.

And that's it! From now on when you're searching Trip, make sure you log in, and certain results (primary research articles) will have a Bond.Au full-text link as follows:

That Bond.Au link will give you the access that Bond has paid for, so if our subscriptions cover it, you'll go straight to the full text. Any questions or problems please get in touch!

JAMA access problems

2013-05-16T09:17:00.000+10:00

** Update - the problems accessing JAMA now appear to have been resolved. If you do still have any difficulties please contact me **

There currently seem to be problems with accessing JAMA. This is affecting off-campus access including wireless devices, and some Bond PCs. Some Bond PCs do seem to still be able to access JAMA without a problem.

The issues seem to be due to some technical changes made at JAMA's end, and they are working on resolving these. Hopefully very shortly all will be up and running again.

Changes to Vancouver referencing at Bond

2013-05-09T13:39:00.000+10:00

I just wanted to flag some future changes to Vancouver referencing at Bond. In particular, the Library's guide to the Vancouver style will be changing slightly. This may affect staff/students of the MBBS program.

Why change anything? Currently there's no EndNote style which produces Vancouver as outlined in the guide I just linked to. So currently EndNote can't be used for Vancouver referencing as we prescribe it. The changes will be small, and fix this. Students will also then be producing referencing in the style required by a major journal (JAMA).

I hope to update the guide early this semester, but there will be further communication beforehand. If you have any questions/concerns about this at the moment though please get in touch.

It's very difficult to find an image related to 'referencing'! So instead here's a nice pic of Vancouver :)

Welcome new HSM students!

2013-05-03T12:20:00.000+10:00

A warm welcome to anyone beginning their studies at Bond this semester. As a Bond student you have access to fantastic library resources, including an extensive range of journals and journal databases, books and ebooks, point of care and multimedia resources, EndNote, RefWorks, and assistance finding the information you need for your work.

The quickest way to get up and running with it all is to have a look through our online library orientation. Click to look through it now!:

You can also find the online orientation via the library homepage. And you've already found your way to this blog which is a good start - why not enter your email address over on the right and have any news/updates delivered to you?

If you want further assistance with anything please don't hesitate to get in touch with me. As the faculty librarian for HSM I'm available to help all HSM students with finding materials, using EndNote, using the online resources etc. etc. Just ask!

Managing your research data at Bond

2013-05-01T10:46:00.000+10:00

Your research data is important - don't let it go to waste!

As part of the Australian National Data Service (ANDS) Bond Library can help you manage your data and create a data management plan.

Why?

Receive credit for your data collections
Increase the visibility of your data and your research
Ensure long-term preservation and access
Minimise the risk of data loss

To find out more contact Antoinette Cass or David Honeyman.

If you want to read more on this aspect of the research process we've put together a very useful guide to managing your research data at Bond University; our Research Data Management Toolkit. You can find the Toolkit at any time by clicking Library Guides on the Library homepage.

Pharmaceutical Research. [Photography]. Retrieved from Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. http://quest.eb.com/images/132_1301188

Free talks on evidence based medicine

2013-04-11T12:08:00.000+10:00

Just came across some free talks from the Evidence Live 2013 conference held in March, definitely some interesting viewing there for those interested in EBM.

If you create a free account (they call it 'subscribing' though there's no cost involved) you can access even more presentations including one by Paul Glasziou.

HSM in the media - Ray Moynihan

2013-04-11T11:37:00.000+10:00

Ray Moynihan in the Sydney Morning Herald, 11 April 2013.

Use the link above to read the article in a new window.

Treatment for some patients not needed: researcher
Melissa Davey Health
The Sydney Morning Herald
Apr 11 2013
People are being medicated for conditions that may never have caused them harm, according to a health researcher who says the boundaries of disease diagnosis are being ‘‘relentlessly’’ pushed outwards. Ray Moynihan, a senior research fellow at Bond...read more...

Researchers, get started with ORCID in 6 minutes

2013-03-28T09:43:00.000+10:00

I've previously posted about the benefits of getting an ORCID identifier for researchers at Bond. If you've not checked ORCID out yet this video gives a great introduction, and shows how to immediately set your profile up using your publications from Scopus:

Here's the link to the Scopus to Orcid wizard in case you missed it in that video. Please get in touch if you have questions about using ORCID!

A great resource for Bond researchers

2013-03-20T11:44:00.000+10:00

A resource the library is currently highlighting is Sage Research Methods Online. I think it's a fantastic tool for anyone conducting research at Bond - you can search for information on all aspects of the research process, from design and data collection through to writing up your research, and you'll get full text information (books, journal articles, encyclopedias etc.) straight away.

You can access Sage Research Methods Online anytime via the Electronic Resources link on the library homepage. Or click here to try it now - just do a search on something you're interested in (eg. literature review, analysis of variance) and explore the information you get back.

For more detail Sage have produced a few videos, or as always please feel free to get in touch.

Hospital staff can now borrow from Bond Library

2013-03-11T10:14:00.001+10:00

Staff members of the Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service can now borrow materials from Bond University Library. This arrangement increases the cooperation between the library services of Bond and the GCHHS (Bond students on placement can already access some services at the hospital libraries).

To borrow, GCHHS staff just need to present their staff identification card,

and proof of address (eg. a drivers license), and they'll be issued a Bond library card.

Borrowing privileges are limited to 5 items from our main collection, and electronic access is not available due to authentication/licensing restrictions. Please get in touch with me if you have any questions about the new arrangement!

Online study room bookings now available

2013-01-21T11:48:00.001+10:00

Students can now book the library group study rooms themselves! In previous semesters you've needed to contact a library staff member to book a room - I'm sure continuing students will find the online bookings much more convenient. It's all pretty self explanatory, just click the button on the library homepage and follow the instructions, but if you'd like more information here's a post on the L-files. If you want to make a booking right now here's a link to the new system.

New name for Archives of Internal Medicine

2013-01-17T10:17:00.001+10:00

I recently tried to access Bond's new subscription to the Archives of Internal Medicine via the eJournal Portal, and couldn't find it! A little investigation revealed that as of January 1st, JAMA have renamed all of their 'Archives' journals.

The new name for Archives of Internal Medicine is JAMA Internal Medicine, so if like me you're trying to find it with the eJournal Portal, you'll need to use the new name:

If you want to check out the journal right now here's a link. The name change affects all 'Archives of...' journals; there's more information from JAMA about this here.

HSM in the media - Ben Schram and James Furness

2013-01-14T18:42:00.000+10:00

A couple of recent mentions for HSM research in the Gold Coast Bulletin.

Ben Schram in the Gold Coast Bulletin 9 January 2013

James Furness in the Gold Coast Bulletin 8 January 2013
(and also the Sunday Mail 6 January 2013)

Use the links above to open the full article in a new window to view.

Welcome new students to the library!

2013-01-04T14:56:00.000+10:00

Merry Christmas!

2012-12-21T12:31:00.001+10:00

I'd like to wish all the students and staff of HSM a very happy festive season, whatever you're doing.

If you've got some free time over the next week or so you could do worse than follow Santa's lead here (on the front cover of the Queenslander magazine from 1934).

Have fun and see you next year.

Image from the State Library of Queensland

New database of medical cases launched by BioMed Central

2012-12-19T09:55:00.000+10:00

BioMed Central have launched a new, freely available database of medical cases, called Cases Database.

The use of cases as a form of evidence is becoming more prevalent; this blog post by Richard Smith talks about this and the rationale for the Cases Database, or you can watch Michael Kidd from the Journal of Medical Case Reports explain:

The Cases Database brings together cases from over 100 journals. You can search for cases by condition, medication/intervention, demographic characteristics such as age or ethnicity, and a range of other criteria. Searching the Cases Database is free, and some of the articles are freely available. If you want an article that's not directly available try the e-Journal Portal, or failing that you can use Document Delivery. If there's anything I can help with just let me know.

A fantastic anatomy resource - Anatomy TV

2012-12-18T13:25:00.000+10:00

Bond students and staff have access to a great resource for learning/revising anatomy - Anatomy TV. Detailed 3D models are available focusing on exercise, sports injuries, resistance training, or areas of the body such as the spine, knee etc. etc. You can also view MRIs, photographs and movies/animations relevant to the anatomical area you're studying. Here's a video to get you started:

I've been having a good look at Anatomy TV while making this movie, and it really is very good. You can find it at any time by clicking Electronic Resources from the library homepage. Only 3 people can access it at a time, so if you don't get on just try again later. If you have any questions please get in touch with me.

Watch videos for clinical examination skills! - Bates

2012-12-05T12:59:00.000+10:00

I thought I'd highlight a really useful resource with this post - all Bond students have access to a collection of videos which teach physical examination skills.

Bates: A Visual Guide to Physical Examination is available by clicking Electronic Resources on the library homepage - or click here. Then click 'View' and start to browse the available videos.

Use it to learn, consolidate, review, all without reading a thing!

HSM in the media - Paul Glasziou on the Health Report

2012-11-23T16:28:00.000+10:00

I just came across this episode of the Health Report on Radio National:

Corticosteroids Treatment for Sore Throat - Paul Glasziou - Health Report, Radio National - 19 Nov 2012

The library has set up an alert for mentions of Bond University in the news media, which is where I discovered this - if you'd like information on how to access this media alert please let me know. However I thought it might be useful to post significant media mentions of the faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine right here. More to come!

One ID to rule them all - ORCID is launched

2012-11-08T11:44:00.000+10:00

ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) has now launched.

The ORCID project aims to solve the problem of attributing scholarly works to the correct authors. This can be troublesome particularly in cases where many authors have the same name (eg. John Smith) or when an author has changed their name, or published under variations of their name (eg. Mary Williamson, Mary P. Williamson, M. Williamson-Brown).

ORCID creates one unique identifier, to which an academic can then link all of their scholarly publications. It is early days for ORCID and judging by the feedback/information on their website, further enhancements and features are under development. However the initiative has the support of Web of Knowledge (Thomson Reuters), Scopus (Elsevier), and several major academic publishers, such as Cambridge University Press, Sage, and Taylor & Francis, so it looks well placed to become an authoritative identifier for academic works.

Registering is extremely quick (you can do it here), and from there you can start to add your own information.

Click 'Import Research Activities' on the left to associate your ORCID ID with your Scopus ID, and import your publications from Scopus.

You can then click to Update your Works, and add your publications from a variety of sources.

As I mentioned it looks like many features are still in the planning stages (such as importing from Google Scholar). I've only played around with it at a very surface level, but if I can offer any assistance please get in touch. It does look like quite a promising way of ensuring that publications (and citations) are correctly attributed to the correct author, and of providing authoritative lists of a scholar's publications.