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Research on Social Work Practice
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Article

Systematically Retrieving Research: A Case Study Evaluating Seven Databases

Brian Taylor, Ph.D.1*, Emma Wylie2, Martin Dempster, Ph.D.3, and Michael Donnelly, Ph.D.3

1 University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, UK
2 Causeway Health and Social Services Trust, Northern Ireland, UK
3 Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: bj.taylor{at}ulster.ac.uk.


  Abstract
Objective: Developing the scientific underpinnings of social welfare requires effective and efficient methods of retrieving relevant items from the increasing volume of research. Method: We compared seven databases by running the nearest equivalent search on each. The search topic was chosen for relevance to social work practice with older people. Results: Highest sensitivity was achieved by Medline (52%), Social Sciences Citation Index (46%) and Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) (30%). Highest precision was achieved by AgeInfo (76%), PsycInfo (51%) and Social Services Abstracts (41%). Each database retrieved unique relevant articles. Conclusions: Comprehensive searching requires the development of information management skills. The social work profession would benefit from having a dedicated international database with the capability and facilities of major databases such as Medline, CINAHL, and PsycInfo.

First published on July 31, 2007, doi:10.1177/1049731507304402

Research on Social Work Practice 2007;17:697.

A more recent version of this article appeared on November 1, 2007

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This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Research on Social Work PracticeHome page
G. Holden, K. Barker, L. Covert-Vail, G. Rosenberg, and S. A. Cohen
Social Work Abstracts Fails Again: A Replication and Extension
Research on Social Work Practice, November 1, 2009; 19(6): 715 - 721.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Research on Social Work PracticeHome page
B. J. Taylor
Invited Commentary on Papers by Holden et al. and Shek on the Quality of Social Work Abstracts
Research on Social Work Practice, May 1, 2009; 19(3): 366 - 369.
[PDF]

Home page
 Research on Social Work PracticeHome page
G. Holden, K. Barker, L. Covert-Vail, G. Rosenberg, and S. A. Cohen
Does Social Work Abstracts Work?
Research on Social Work Practice, September 1, 2008; 18(5): 487 - 499.
[Abstract] [PDF]