Information:

This service is aimed at NHS professionals and students on clinical placement at Liverpool University Hospitals, Liverpool Women's University Hospital, The Walton Centre, and Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, not for the general public. If you are looking for our public facing hospital services, please visit our service finder.

Literature Search Training Service

If you need to carry out either basic or more complex, robust searches, including those for systematic reviews and informing research, we can show you how to devise search strategies to locate the best evidence from the literature by using a variety of Healthcare & Management databases. We offer 1:1 training or small group sessions including via Microsoft Teams.

Databases available

  • CINAHL – nursing and allied health
  • Embase – biomedical and pharmaceutical literature
  • Emcare – nursing and allied health
  • Health Business Elite - health care administration (LUHFT staff only)
  • HMIC – healthcare management
  • Medline – biomedical, life sciences, allied health and pre-clinical sciences literature
  • PsycInfo – psychology, behavioural sciences and related disciplines (LUHFT staff only)
  • Social Policy and Practice – health and social care.

To access them, sign in using your OpenAthens account. If you haven't got an OpenAthens account, register here.

How to search the literature effectively

These modules are designed to help LUHFT (clinical and non-clinical) colleagues build confidence to search published literature for articles and evidence relevant to your work, study and research. The modules are short (each taking no more than 20 minutes to complete) and may be ‘dipped into’ for reference or completed to obtain a certificate. There are seven modules suitable for novice searchers and those wishing to refresh their knowledge.

The following modules are accessed here: Literature Searching.

You will need to sign in via OpenAthens to view the content. If you haven’t got an OpenAthens account, please sign up.

Building the foundations

  • Module 1 - Introduction to searching
  • Module 2 - Where do I start searching?
  • Module 3 - How do I start to develop a search strategy?

Developing the skills

  • Module 4 - Too many results? How to narrow your search
  • Module 5 - Too few results? How to broaden your search
  • Module 6 - Searching with subject headings.

Applying the skills

  • Module 7 - Searching the NHS Knowledge and Library Hub and bibliographic databases.

Critically appraising the evidence base

E-learning for health (e-lfh) has developed the following e-learning programme on critical appraisal skills training.

To access, go to this link E-learning for Health and register with your work email. Once registered, type in critical appraisal into the search box to find the modules below:

  1. Introduction to critical appraisal
  2. Introduction to equity considerations in critical appraisal
  3. Introduction to critical appraisal of randomised controlled trials
  4. Introduction to interpreting results for critical appraisal​
  5. Introduction to critical appraisal of systematic reviews
  6. Introduction to critical appraisal of qualitative studies
  7. Introduction to critical appraisal of diagnostic and screening tests
  8. Introduction to critical appraisal tools.

Learning zone

Key online resources to support your professional and personal development.