Library : Keeping Current with Research

Setting aside time to read journal articles is an important habit to cultivate.

To save time:

• subscribe to your favorite professional review newsletters
• subscribe to online services for delivery of topical updates and/or tables of contents

Chiropractic Newsletters and Updates

 Life West provides links to external websites as a service to researchers.  No endorsement is implied.

ChiroAccess  (free on Web; registration required for forums)
http://www.chiroaccess.com/ 
Health Index, Inc.
News of chiropractic research and evidence-based reviews.  It is also the portal for the MANTIS--Manual, Alternative and Natural Therapy Index System database of citations and abstracts.

 

The Chiropractic Report  ($ print subscription; previous year issues free on Web) 
http://www.chiropracticreport.com/
Editor: David Chapman-Smith, LL.B.
Website includes a synopsis of the most current issue and free access to previous years' volumes.  Each issue features one main review article and shorter items on developments in the profession, practice and research. Summaries are fully referenced.  

Chiropractic Resource Organization  (free on Web ; alerts via Facebook and RSS)

http://www.chiro.org/wordpress/   

Maintained by volunteers; supported by sponsors.

In the left sidebar, select “ Research” and other headings to find citations and brief abstracts, as well as links to full-text when available.  While many full-text articles are not from peer-reviewed journals, they often conclude with useful references.  Iatrogenic injury, Repetitive Stress, Fibromyalgia, Patient satisfaction, Antibiotic use, Conditions that respond well [to chiropractic care] and Cost effectiveness are among the available topics. 

 

Dr. Murphy's Article Review ($ for Web access)
http://www.danmurphydc.com/newsletter.htm
Dr. Dan Murphy reviews the scientific literature on chiropractic, nutrition, and injury.  Each week, he covers the most interesting content in his Article Review.  See also "Free stuff" http://www.danmurphydc.com/freestuff.html. 

Life West librarians maintain a Firefox-compatible bibliography with links to Dr. Murphy's contributed articles in American Journal of Clinical Chiropractic and Chiropractic Choice.  Library has the issues in print format in case any links are unavailable.  It refers to articles in:

• AJCC 2000-July 2008 issues http://www.idealspine.com/pages/AJCC_INDEX.htm  
• AJCC blog for full text April 2009-present
  http://www.chiropractic-biophysics.com/
  
• Chiropractic Choice
  http://www.thechiropracticchoice.com/index.php         

 

Dynamic Chiropractic (free on Web; free print subscription for DCs)
http://www.chiroweb.com/

Watch for book reviews and articles about the implications of influential research studies.  Scroll down to see "Article Search".  Also see Wellness Report below. 

 

Fast Facts (free on Web ; new additions announced via Twitter, RSS feed, and Facebook)
Editor: Daniel Redwood, DC
http://www.tihcij.com/Articles/Fast-Facts.aspx?
Readers contribute a brief abstract and citation.  These almost always come from very recent journal articles.  Contributors' names are included.

 

Index to Chiropractic Literature (free on Web ; new resources announced on social media)    

www.chiroindex.org

Provides citations and abstracts for chiropractic journal articles, and links to available full text.  Some articles are free and others are by subscription.  In addition to excellent search features, the site is enhanced with the “Open Access Library” and “More Resources” sections that have extensive links to chiropractic sites, organizations, additional free databases, and practice guidelines.    ICL is developed by volunteer chiropractic librarians as a service to the profession.  Suggestions for improvement are welcome via “Contact Us” link.  

 

Index to Chiropractic Literature social media (free on Web)

Editor:  Anne Taylor-Vaisey

Facebook http://on.fb.me/ICLfacebook

LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Index-Chiropractic-Literature-3164370/about

Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/chiroindex

ICL's Web editor posts alerts, to all the above media, about resources newly added to the Index and its associated resource pages.  Scanning older posts provides an overview of significant topics in journals for the chiropractic profession.  Currently, more chiropractors connect via Linkedin than Facebook, frequently contributing useful information and commentary.

 

Research Review Service   ($ for Web access)
http://www.researchreviewservice.com/
Editor:  Shawn Thistle, D.C.
A database with weekly reviews and alerts on relevant studies from selected medical, chiropractic and physical therapy journals with a focus on manual medicine, physiotherapy, acupuncture, rehabilitation, exercise sciences, orthopedic clinical testing, physical therapy, athletic therapy, and wellness.  See also Canadian Chiropractor http://www.canadianchiropractor.ca where a search for "Thistle" reveals Research Review Corner (free on Web).

 

Researched Chiropractic Conditions & Care (free on Web)

http://www.uschirodirectory.com/index.php/chiropractic-research

Editor:  Mark Studin, D.C.

Summaries, categorized by topic, highlight referenced articles.  This service is part of the U.S. Chiropractic Directory website.

 

Wellness Report (free on Web; alert to blog updates via Facebook and Twitter)

http://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/blogs/wrblog/

Editor:  Donald M. Petersen, Jr.

Summarizes journal articles and highlights pertinent phrases relevant to risk factors for disease and wellness promotion.  Provides links to the abstract in PubMed.  Previous blog entries are organized into broad categories.

 

 

General Newsletters

 Life West provides links to external websites as a service to researchers.  No endorsement is implied.

The BackLetter  ($ print subscription, with Web access)
http://bit.ly/BackLetter
Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Briefings on important articles  for practitioners about the diagnosis and treatment of spinal problems and back pain.

NCCAM Clinical Update  (free on Web; free e-subscription)

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/providers/digest/?nav=upd

Publisher: National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

A monthly e-newsletter that summarizes the state of the science on complementary and alternative medicine and a health condition (such as diabetes, cancer, and sleep disorders), clinical guidelines, literature searches, research highlights, and information for patients.

 

Online Portals

 

Medscape (free on Web; must register)
http://www.medscape.com/

Publisher:  WebMD
Web-based portal, with optional e-mail news service.  The editable profile entered at registration helps determine the news and featured articles displayed for your login. Explore the site, since not all specialties and topics are listed on the front page.  Among the topics are: autism, exercise and sports medicine, geriatric care, integrative medicine, restless leg syndrome, smoking, spinal disorders, vaccines, and notably any new topics of nationwide interests. Supported by advertising.

 

Musculoskeletal Network (free on Web; must register)

http://www.musculoskeletalnetwork.com/

Publisher: UBM Medica

Topical categories provide abstracts from recent journal literature, and resource centers provide podcasts, news, and featured articles from Journal of Musculoskeletal Medicine primarily on arthritis and osteoporosis, but inclusive of other topics as well.  Supported by advertising.

 

Alerting Services

 

Amedeo: the Medical Literature Guide (free on Web; must register ; updates via Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn)
http://www.amedeo.com/ 

Publisher:  Flying Publisher

Literature overviews covering the past 12-24 months are available for about 100 conditions or specialities.  The weekly e-mail alert for selected medical topics and journals also supplies new abstracts to a free personal literature page, My Amedeo.  The site also offers e-mail alerts for updates to its lists of free materials--open-access medical books, journals for doctors, and podcasts.

 

Google Scholar

http://scholar.google.com  Click on Alerts.

Any search can be saved as an alert.  Google Scholar can also send notice whenever an article is cited.  This is useful for authors who want to know the impact of their work, as well as for researchers who want to follow a particular paper or author.

 

IngentaConnect (free on Web for limited service; must register).
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/

Publisher: Publishing Technology
E-mail notification of new article titles based on your profile. Free service is limited to five journal titles. Useful for researchers who need have broad, diverse coverage. It often includes book chapters, congresses, and articles in journals not indexed in PubMed, MANTIS, or Index to Chiropractic Literature.

 

My NCBI (free on Web; must register ; browser must accept cookies)
http://www.pubmed.gov/

Publisher:  National Center for Biotechnology Information

Anyone who frequently uses PubMed will appreciate the features of this free service from the National Libray of Medicine.  Its most popular features allow users to:

• Store multiple search strategies and receive e-mail notification when new content matches the search profile.
• Add custom filters that organize search results into favorite categories, such as age group, language, or subscribing library.  To add a category showing which journals are available at Life West Library:  login to My NCBI; Manage filters; Select Category: LinkOut; Search for "Life Chiropractic College West"; checkmark Filter and checkmark Icon. 
• Store collections of citations indexed in PubMed; and for authors, add articles that are indexed elsewhere to their personal bibliographices.
• Share links to selected collections of citations, or keep them private.  

For help in formulating effective searches on topics and/or journals of interest, please consult a reference librarians.

PubMed also offers an alternative alert system via RSS.  See RSS tutorial for saving strategies and setting up results notification via RSS feeds at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/disted/pubmedtutorial/040_060.html.

 

Organizing the Evidence:  Tips for Efficiency

 

 

For anyone who regularly saves citations, learning to use reference management software is worthwhile.  Most systems allow tagging, comment, and export to word processors. Some systems also offer file storage. See a reference librarian for further advice. 

Even for small collections of citations and articles, it is always a good idea to maintain at least a simple list of bibliographic citations in order to have useful references at hand.  Be sure to consistently use a basic filing system for both print and electronic articles.

 

Why?  You will need to have citations, citations with abstracts, or even full-text of articles handy for:

• Justifying care on insurance claims
• Documenting resources in presentations and publications for any audience: health practitioners, the public, your patients
• Using properly cited references in your consultations with other providers

How?  Choose a filing system and stick with it. 

For print copies:

File consistently by first author OR journal title OR topic.

Highlight the filing words the hardcopy.

For electronic documents (PDFs):

Decide if you even need folders in which to store your documents.

Be sure to use a consistent naming convention that allows you to easily identify the article.  

Examples: 

jessel_orthopedic_2007.pdf  = [first author_first word of article title_year]

alcantara_explore_2010.pdf = [first author_journal title_year]

ChiroManualTher_2012_Diagnostic imaging = [journal title_year_first words of article title]