Skip to main content

Need help with your literature search?

 Do you need to answer a question? 

When you need an answer to a healthcare question you need to find out what information already exists about it; so that you have the background information and latest research. Whether it is for an assignment, dissertation, research, audit or other work you need to complete a literature search to get the latest information and best evidence to answer your question. 

Complete a literature search plan 

How do you start your literature search? Start with a plan. Make a literature search plan to help you to focus your search, be systematic and keep a record in case you want to repeat it. 

How can the Health Library help you? 

Information Skills etutorials 

Develop your information searching skills by completing our short, engaging etutorials. Read presentations, complete quizzes and watch videos to learn the essential skills to finding information efficiently and effectively. 

Start off with our Introduction to Literature Searching etutorial. You’ll learn about the key steps to follow and get your own plan at the end. 

Here’s a quick overview of the skills you’ll develop: 


Training courses 

If you need more help, then book on a training course with one of our librarians. You can attend in person or online and join a group session or arrange a personalised, 1-to-1 session. Our experienced librarians will help you to create your plan and show you our popular databases. 

Literature Search Service 

NHS staff who struggle to find the time to complete their own literature searching can ask the library to do it for them! Our knowledgable literature searching team can complete a search on your behalf. You’ll get a report of articles matching your search criteria. 

Access Resources 

Are you ready to run your search? We list all the major resources that we subscribe to on our website. You’ll find links to the essential, specialist databases that you need. 

More help 

If you need any help finding or accessing information, please contact the Health Library for more support. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ebsco database training in October 2026

 Ebsco are delivering a range of training opportunities this month as below. Please book for these online courses using the links below: Advanced Searching for CINAHL in EBSCOhost This 60-minute session will introduce advanced search concepts for searching in CINAHL on the EBSCOhost interface. In this session we will look at navigating the interface, the use of CINAHL (Subject) Headings, the application of filters, reviewing available options to save, share, download and export search results, as well as saving, editing and downloading searches and creating and managing alerts. • Wednesday, 14th October @ 2.00pm • Thursday, 29th October @ 10.00am   Exploring the NHS Knowledge & Library Hub – Updated This 60-minute webinar provides a comprehensive introduction to the Hub (EBSCO Discovery Service), featuring recent enhancements to the interface. • Tuesday, 27th October @ 2.30pm   Supporting Systematic Reviews Part 1 – Searching The first of two parts, ...

Login to Library Search – step-by-step instructions for NHS staff

  Library Search is a discovery tool, allowing you to find items within the library collections. You can search Library Search without logging in to view books and ebooks available in our collections. By logging in to your library account on Library Search you can access a range of additional functionality, such as: Viewing details of your library account Submitting a request to hold a book for you Adding items to your e-bookshelf Saving searches Note that for NHS users logging in to Library Search does not give you access to full-text items. As an NHS member of staff you access online resources using your NHS OpenAthens username. Anatomy of a Library Card First let’s take a quick look at the most important components of your library card. Your library card and library card number give you access to print resources as well as library services. They confirm that you are a member of the library. Your name : this will be printed on your card, so you’ll know it’s yours!...

Clinical Key training in October 2026

 Clinical Key is a search tool providing access to wide range of content from articles, journals and ebooks to clinical overviews, patient education and drug reference texts. It is available to UHNM staff via OpenAthens login . Elsevier are offering 2 training sessions during October. Topics covered in the session include:  What is ClinicalKey? Use cases and types of content.  Benefits of registration: 24/7 access, content downloads, and personalized alerts.  Live demonstration: efficient searching, navigation, and time-saving tools.  ClinicalKey App: access from iOS and Android devices.  Additional resources: video tutorials and reference materials.  Questions and answers. Please book your session online: October 20 – 12:00 GMT  Register here for session via MS Teams October 21 – 8:00 GMT  Register here for session via Zoom For more help using Clinical Key complete our online tutorial Get Started with Clinical Key .