Efficient bibliographic searches on allergy using ISI databases.

The aim of this article is to provide an introduction to using databases from the Thomson ISI Web of Knowledge, with special reference to Citation Indexes as an analysis tool for publications, and also to explain the meaning of the well-known Impact Factor. We present the partially modified new Consultation Interface to enhance information search routines of these databases. It introduces distinctive methods in search bibliography, including the correct application of analysis tools, paying particular attention to Journal Citation Reports and Impact Factor. We finish this article with comment on the consequences of using the Impact Factor as a quality indicator for the assessment of journals and publications, and how to ensure measures for indexing in the Thomson ISI Databases.

Efficient bibliographic searches on allergology using PubMed.

INTRODUCTION: PubMed is the most important of the non-specialized databases on biomedical literature. International and quickly updated is elaborated by the American Government and contains only information about papers published in scientific journal/s. Although it can be used as an unique Data Base, as a matter of fact is the addition of several subgroups (among them MEDLINE) that can be searched simultaneously. OBJECTIVES: To present the main characteristics of PubMed, as well as the most important procedures of search, for obtaining efficient results in searches on allergology. CHARACTERISTICS AND SEARCH PROCEDURES: PubMed is elaborated by the American Administration, that condition the character of the registered papers, 90 % of them are written in English in American (50 %) or British (20 %) Journals. Because of this, the information for certain specialties or countries must be obtained from other sources. This paper shows how PubMed allows to search in natural language due to the Automatic Term Mapping that links terms from the natural language with the descriptors producing searches with a higher sensitivity although with a low specificity. Nevertheless the MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) thesaurus allows to translate those terms from the natural language to the equivalent descriptor, as well as to make queries in the PubMed's documental language with a high specificity but with lower sensitivity than the natural language. The use of union (OR), intersection (AND) and exclusion (NOT) operators, as well as tags, such as delimiters of the search fields, allows to increase the specificity of the results. Similar results may be obtained with the use of Limits. Searches done using Clinical Queries are very interesting due to their direct clinical application and because allow to find systematic reviews, metaanalysis or clinically oriented papers (treatment, diagnostic, etiology, prognosis or clinical prediction guides) on the area of interest. Other procedures such as the Index, History of searches, and the widening of the selection using Related Articles and the storing of separate results in the Clipboard to be kept by the user, are presented in this paper.

Buscando la mejor "evidencia" en Alergología / Searching for the best evidence in allergology

La Alergología Clínica y las ciencias médicas generan día a día preguntas a los que las practicamos. Para responder a estas preguntas existen distintos tipos de fuentes; sin embargo, estamos obligados a buscar la mejor información posible para resolverlas. Los tiempos en los que vivimos y desarrollamos la profesión médica exigen información de calidad dado el mar de datos disponibles en las fuentes a nuestra disposición; de entre todas las conocidas, es Internet la que mayor volumen nos ofrece. El adecuado manejo de este recurso nos permitirá acceder a información que debería ser por regla general basada en la evidencia. El objetivo de este artículo es proponer una guía de recursos web de utilidad para la práctica diaria en alergología.(AU)

Clinic Allergology and medical sciences practice are constant generators of questions. To answer these questions there are multiple sources; however, we most search for the best possible information. Times we are living in and practice medical profession require high quality information because of the great sea of data we find in the available sources; from all of these, internet is the one that offers a great volume of information. An appropriate use of this resource will allow us to achieve information that should be always evidence based medicine. The objective of this article is to propose a guide of web resources useful in daily Allergology practice. (AU)