TROPICAL MEDICINE 2010/11 AVAILABILITY OF SCIENTIFIC ITM ITM Library – September 2010

Major topics Scientific literature E-journals Databases E-books Selected websites

Scientific literature Journal articles Recent findings Limited focus Indexed widely in popular databases Widespread distribution in libraries and internet : E-journals (mature) Books (and others) Less-up-to-date Broader scope Indexed only partially in the databases Limited availability in libraries and internet : E-books (evolving)

Scientific journals >20,000 journals of biomedical interest ? Print only; Print + Online; E-only ITM collection: 300 vs vs > Important quality filter: peer review Status: inclusion in major databases (e.g. Medline/PubMed, Embase, Biosis, Science Citation Index, …) Status: hierarchy, often based on citation statistics (e.g. ‘journal impact factors (JIF)’)

E-journals Tropical Medicine & International Health Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene American Journal of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene Lancet [substantial developing countries interest!] AIDS See: ‘

Open access BMC - BioMed Central: a series of freely available electronic-only peer reviewed journals, financed by author paid fees. PLoS - Public Library of Science: ‘author pays’ journals, e.g. PLoS Medicine, PLos Pathogens, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases,... PubMed Central: free access to established journals after e.g. 6 months (embargoes!). HINARI – Health Internetwork: special access conditions for research institutes in developing countries (2 groups: free or ‘low price’).

ITM Library databases See: ‘ Produced by ITM library staff Relatively small; e.g. 5,000-20,000 records Limited to relevant topics and collections Focus on developing countries All publication types are included Free keywords; no thesaurus Guaranteed availability of full-text in the ITM library + link to electronic full-text (if available)

Some retrieval tips Start with the essential, continue in logical steps Do not search terms that are already obvious Think about synonyms and alternative spellings Truncation (‘*’) can increase useful results Avoid complex, nested term formulations, try combining clear search sets instead Watch out when using ‘not’, some relevant material may be excluded along with the superfluous

International databases Pro Broad coverage Large volume Well structured keyword systems Weekly updates Contra Articles only USA/UK/English bias Other continents are underrepresented No relation with available ITM collection

Medline / PubMed Major bibliographic database in biomedical sciences and allied life sciences 1950 to the present (>20,000,000 records) Extensive thesaurus: 25,000 ‘MESH’ keywords (MeSH = Medical Subject Headings) Articles only (no books or chapters included!) Strong Anglosaxon bias Local + Third World journals underrepresented No relationship whatsoever with ITM collection

E-books See: ‘ Websites See: ‘

ITM user authentication Access mostly based on IP computer address. Exceptions: to access certain databases or electronic journals, use: User Name: itguser Password: itguser Other combinations are available from the ITM Intranet or Moodle External access via login: