McMaster University

Postgraduate Medicine
(Research Support)

How can the Library help me?

The Health Sciences Library offers a full range of hands-on workshops and services designed to assist residents and develop their searching skills.

Hands-on Workshops

  • The purpose of library workshops are to help residents develop their skills in information management and in the use of information tools and databases
  • Workshops can be tailored to support the curriculum of specific classes or residency programs, in addition to providing a general overview of library services and resources

Examples of Hands-on Workshops

  • Orientation to library services and resources
  • Database searching (e.g. Ovid Medline, Ovid Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, etc.)
  • Managing research and bibliographies with RefWorks
  • Overview of systematic reviews, with emphasis placed on:
    • Identifying resources to search (e.g. databases, reference lists, hand searching, research in progress, etc.)
    • Planning the search process (e.g. choosing sources to search, preparing to document search strategies, etc.)
    • Designing search strategies (e.g. structure of a search strategy, subject headings and keywords, combining concepts, updating searches, etc.)
    • Managing references (e.g. RefWorks, which fields to download, etc.)
    • Documenting the search process to ensure that all searches are reproducible
  • Going beyond commercial publishing: grey literature (i.e. identifying information “where publishing is not the primary activity of the producing body”, Luxembourg, 1997- Expanded in New York, 2004)
  • Clinical tools for patient care: finding the best evidence (Taught by Andrea McLellan)

Library workshops can be requested by postgraduate medical students, staff and faculty, and are generally held Monday through Friday, between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Please contact your Liaison Librarian, Jo-Anne Petropoulos, by phone 905-525-9140, Ext. 24168 or email to arrange a workshop. You will be contacted to confirm the details of the workshop (e.g. date, time, topic, etc.).

Research Consultations

  • The Health Sciences Library offers individualized, in-depth, research consultations for all residents
  • Typical research consultations consist of:
    • Developing a research question, defining terms and concepts, and discussing techniques for searching
    • Recommending resources and databases that are health-related and those outside of health sciences, e.g. Medline, ERIC, grey literature, etc.
    • Discussing information management strategies (e.g. how to create and document a search history, citation management software, etc.)
    • Troubleshooting RefWorks

Individualized, in-depth, research consultations are offered to postgraduate medical students, staff and faculty.  Consultations are generally held Monday through Friday, between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., and usually run about an hour. Please contact your Liaison Librarian, Jo-Anne Petropoulos,by phone 905-525-9140, Ext. 24168 or email to book a consultation. You will be contacted to confirm your appointment.

Prior to your appointment, you are kindly asked to send your Liaison an email describing your research as thoroughly as possible (e.g. PICO, databases already searched, search strategies, etc.), and at least two citations that are relevant to your topic. This is to ensure that Library Liaison is sufficiently prepared for your appointment.