My literature search theory (cannons and sniper rifles)

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My literature search theory (cannons and sniper rifles). As a graduate student, reading English-language literature is an everyday task; after one year, I have basically mastered the basic methods for obtaining full-text versions of articles in English, and I would like to share them with everyone here. When the supervisor gives us a topic, we search PubMed for all articles related to it, and then select those that interest us in order to read them in full. Many of these articles are available only upon payment, and many schools do not have access to a complete set of databases. We can think of these paid articles as obstacles in our path forward – so how can we get rid of them? First tactic: Use large databases to eliminate relevant literature. By large databases, I mean several major databases; in my experience, as long as one has access to Science Direct, Wiley Interscience, Blackwell, Nature Publishing Group, Ovid, and Ebsco, it’s possible to find more than 90% of the articles needed. Many of the Pubmed article links are direct links to the database. The ways of using these databases also vary. There are two ways to crack a database: using proxies or passwords. Science Direct: Access is only possible through agents, and these agents have varying levels of permissions; agents in China generally have limited permissions, so it is recommended to find agents abroad. Wiley Interscience: It also requires a proxy, but once you register a username and set up the proxy as well as activate roam activate, you’ll be able to access this database even without a proxy in the future. However, each activation is valid for only about 3 months, after which it needs to be reactivated. Blackwell: The password for the Blackwell database has been found; you can access it directly, or of course, through a proxy as well. Nature Publishing Group: Few schools purchase the journals in the Nature series; there are also a limited number of password codes available online. If you’re lucky enough to find an agent from a reputable university, you can access these journals through that agent, otherwise you have to rely on the password codes. Ebsco: It has a fairly comprehensive collection of magazines, but schools that have access to high-level e-journals are hard to find; it is also a database that requires the use of both an agent and a password. Ovid: Many schools in China now have trial passwords, so you can access it by using that password. Second tactic: Precise firing to eliminate remaining enemies: Sometimes, articles in PubMed do not provide a link to any database, but rather to the journal’s own website. There are two possibilities in such cases: either the journal is not indexed in any database at all, or the database in which it is indexed does not have a direct link provided by PubMed; databases like Ebsco and Ovid do not offer direct links. The first step is to determine whether the article is indexed in any databases. The recently updated PubMed makes it much easier to search for indexed databases than before; by clicking on \"Linkout\" under \"Links\" next to the article title, it’s easy to find the databases that index it. Once the databases are identified, the first method can be used to proceed. If you still can’t find it, then you’ll have to look for the password to the magazine. Step 2: Find the magazine password. This step is usually necessary in the following situations: 1) The database containing the information cannot be found; 2) The database at hand does not have a complete collection, and the article in question is not available in it, so it is necessary to obtain it directly from the article’s website. (especially seen in articles from the Cell series and Nature series). There are many password pages on various academic websites online; here I suggest that everyone create their own database of journal passwords. Here is the method to set it up: a. Download and install Cyber Article. b. There are many password pages on various academic websites; you can use Cyber Article to save these password pages in a folder named “Passwords” (you can choose the file name yourself). c. Cyber Article has a powerful search function – open the search bar, enter the name of the journal you’re looking for, and search within the password database you’ve created. If you’re lucky, you’ll find a usable password. This post was last edited by lvyj1978 on 2007-1-25 18:46.]