The Search Principle blog

Anurag Acharya is Google Scholar’s Principal Engineer. After Dr. Pauly’s article Web of Science vs. Google Scholar was debated on blogs/ listservs yesterday, I sent Anurag three questions:

1. Is the Google Scholar index the same searchable index, regardless of location?

Anurag: It is the same index and the same ranking [regardless of location].

My comments: To have any utility as a citation tracker, Google Scholar’s results must be reproducible. At the very least, that means reliable, stable content – not differing results for each search. If results were to differ across time zones and geographies, Scholar would only ever provide vague notions of citedness scores.
A priori – the index must be stable, complete and transparent to searchers!

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2. Have you tested Google Scholar’s performance from various geographic points globally? Are you aware of any country to country variations due to specific network issues [preventing it from performing similarly]?

Anurag: I don’t know of any filtering at the network level. The index at our end is the same.

My comments: This is very good news because regular Google has variants: Google.fr, google.de, google.it. For nations like Google China some results are blocked. Anurag seems to say that regional differences do not exist in Scholar.

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3. How often does GS change? daily? monthly?

Anurag: We cannot share update information, but our long-term goal is to update every day.

My comments: Daily updates (even hourly) should not be difficult. However, this response is classic Google, showing extreme reticence. The PubMed index changes daily; WoS changes weekly. Librarians know how to cope with differences in coverage between databases, and can modify strategies based on what they know about a database. Without this basic information, librarians cannot recommend Google Scholar (except for the most basic kinds of browsing; known-items).

Surely, this is not only a librarian thing though. I’ll blog a little more about how librarians cope with linguistic/semantic challenges in databases (what programmers call normalization – which is not the same thing as authority control in an index).

Dean Giustini
UBC Google scholar blogger

In response to the article in University Affairs, I have written the following letter.

Google’s stock may be plummeting – but it just went up in my books. Dr. Larry Brilliant has been hired to lead Google.org, the search giant’s philanthropic arm.

Larry Brilliant is a physician, epidemiologist and specialist in international health. In the 1970s, he took a lead role in the WHO‘s campaign against smallpox and worked for the United Nations in eradicating blindness and polio.

In 1978, he founded the Seva Foundation, an organization committed to sharing technology and skills with the developing world. The executive and staff at Seva, based in Berkeley, California, are an eclectic mix of social workers, doctors, engineers and new age types working to close the digital divide.

Has Dr. B. heard of Google Medicine? Now there’s a legacy assignment for him. With about a billion dollars to spend, how about allotting some Google foundation money to improving access to information for developing countries?

Dean Giustini
UBC Google Scholar blog

Searching for information about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) poses a number of challenges, not the least of which is a lack of high level evidence. However, for some starting points review yesterday’s post, or view the document entitled: Open vs. Locked CAM Resources. (Peter Suber at OA News reminded me that Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine is also top-tier.)

Let me know if I have missed any significant websites or sources. – Dean

1. Starting points: CAM at UBC Library, NCCAM and Wikipedia.
2. More background: MEDLINEplus and Drugs – Supplements.
3. Clinical trials: CAM on Pubmed and NCCAM Trials Information.
4. Systematic Reviews: Bandolier and the Cochrane Library.
5. Searching for free & Open vs. Locked CAM Resources.

In MEDLINE, use the MeSH term complementary therapies (or see specific therapies). It is defined as “…therapeutic practices which are not currently considered an integral part of conventional allopathic medical practice. They may lack biomedical explanations but as they become better researched some therapies (ACUPUNCTURE, HYDROTHERAPY) become widely accepted whereas others (humors, radium therapy) quietly fade away, yet are important historical footnotes”.

In PubMedCentral, see the many open access EBM-CAM research articles.

Dean Giustini
UBC Google Scholar blogger

The Globe and Mail ran an interesting article this week entitled What doctors won’t say: they’re living in fear. In the article, Dr. Donna Manca, a University of Alberta physician, discusses her own stalking case published in Canadian Family Physician.

What can physicians do when patients stalk? First, set clear boundaries with patients and learn what to do when harassment begins. Staying informed is important, says Dr. Manca, as is discussing the problems you are having with fellow doctors.

Is there much in the medical literature on stalking? First, stalking is not a MeSH term in PubMed; the closest term is obsessive behavior – psychology which can be combined with keywords (physicians or stalking). A PubMed search on stalking yields 17 relevant articles. Here’s a Google Scholar search and a browsable list of articles from Scirus using similar search terms. Here’s the Wikipedia entry on stalking.

Physicians can search for current research in PsycINFO, read about legal rights/ options under the Canadian criminal code, browse for information via a Google search and find guidelines from national medical associations and/ or colleges. If you need help finding information about stalking, this is an interdisciplinary topic and you will need to consult multiple sources. Failing that, ask your medical librarian for help.

Dean Giustini
UBC Google scholar blogger

Citius, altius, fortius. The Olympic motto – faster, higher, stronger – is in full evidence in Torino. Whether on the ski-hill, skating oval or ice, the other aspect of the Olympic Games
for some athletes is sports injury. As a medical librarian, I wondered whether evidence-based sports medicine (EBSM)
(a relatively new field) was being practiced in Torino.

According to the Olympic Medical Code, health providers at the Torino games must have “experience in sports medicine, and their knowledge must be kept up to date“. In addition, athlete’s physicians must “act in accordance with the latest medical knowledge, and when available, in accordance with evidence-based medicine“. (See History of the IOC Medical Commission and the Olympic Library.)

For more background, see the IOC medical documents. (Of note are the documents related to doping, concussions, nutrition as well as sports and energy drinks).

Doing EBSM research? See the databases at the Int’l Assoc for Sports Information (some require subscribing). See sports periodicals here and search at PubMed and/or Google Scholar. For more information, see the UBC Library’s Human Kinetics guide (written by colleague Ellen George) – or ask a medical librarian for assistance.

Dean Giustini
UBC Google Scholar blogger

Medical library staff can demonstrate their value by assisting physicians, nurses and pharmacists in locating reliable, evidence-based information. The goal is to provide the best evidence for clinical decision-making and improvement of care. The range of reference skills needed to provide library service in hospitals is considerable.

In an effort to understand what skills are needed, last night’s medical reference class held at Langara College in Vancouver Canada, brainstormed some great ideas, and came up with the following preliminary list of skills students felt were needed to provide basic medical reference services:

Top Five (5) Medical Reference Skills
1. Empathy, respect for and sensitivity to patient & physician needs, confidentiality
2. Knowledge of medical searching, information sources & databases (print & online)
3. Good basic reference skills, interpersonal & “soft skills” (courtesy & respect)
4. Lifelong learning, computer & teaching skills (keeping up with new technology)
5. Knowledge of health care environment (research, education, patient care)

See the Top Ten (10) Competencies for Medical Reference for those interested in developing advanced reference skills. Comments most welcome!

Dean Giustini
UBC Google Scholar blogger

Most physicians – especially family practitioners, and pediatricians – meet with families, answer questions about infections, diseases, lab tests and prescriptions. To help doctors and nurses educate patients, basic knowledge is needed about searching the web, finding trusted information AND evaluating health websites.

The U.S. Medical Library Association produces the Top Ten Most Useful Websites. (Notable on this list is MEDLINEplus.) What’s missing on the list is a national perspective for patients from other countries, so check with your favorite medical librarian in your region if you need a Canadian spin on health.

To search for the best Canadian health content, try the following websites (but remember Google Scholar and Google Canada may still help you find accurate, valuable health information). Check with your local public or hospital library.

1. Canadian Medical Association – www.cma.ca/public
2. Canada Health Portal – www.healthportal.gc.ca
3. Health Canada – www.hc-sc.gc.ca
4. Canadian Health Network (CHN) – canadian-health-network.ca
5. Canadian Patient Safety Institute – patientsafetyinstitute.ca

Dean Giustini
UBC Google Scholar blogger

In the academic hospital environment, physicians, residents (and librarians) prepare for and deliver rounds and lectures regularly. Do the five (5) steps of evidence-based medicine apply to public lectures? Central to EBM is converting information needs into answerable questions. And so it is with evidence-based lecturing. However, EBL begins and ends with considering your audience (not your patients).

Five Steps of Evidence-Based Lectures
1. Formulate a question based on your goal, time allotted, & audience.
2. Search the medical literature, & retrieve evidence to support goals.
3. Develop outline & create powerpoints (finding media or medical images).
4. Assess. Reflect. Add humour. Check copyright.
5. Make adjustments. Visualize lecture, and audience. Reassess…

Check with your local medical librarian should you need help with your searches, or to resolve copyright issues for presentations (especially using images found on Google).

Dean Giustini
UBC Google Scholar blogger