Searching and managing references for medical research and results' publishing

Abstract

The current online services enable detection and access to a significant number of specialised databases, documents and articles in the field of medical and related sciences. However, the amount of provided information emphasizes the problem of classification, relevance and efforts to make a selection, study and logically organize the collected references and documents. Since already faced with such experiences, we have explored: which search engines will provide rational and relevant lists of documents on our entries; which software tools are available for managing, organising and reviewing the collected documents, as well as for coordinating team activities, and finally we checked the effectiveness and efficiency of the selected search engines and tools for reference managing in practice. Materials and methods: In order to find documents online, we used: a general-purpose search engine - Google; a specialised search engine - Google Scholar; a specialised Web service - PubMed and users' library that is integrated into reference manager software tool Mendeley. Our analysis of reference management tools included some of the frequently used, such as: Docear, Endnote, Mendeley and Zotero. The assessment of the search engines and tools for reference managing was based on our comparative analysis by applying pre-defined criteria and desired functionalities. Results: At first, the comparative analysis showed that there was not 'the best' way for searching and finding documents and literature on the Internet. At the very start we eliminated the general-purpose search engine - Google due to insufficient selectivity and relevance. Further on, analyzing the search results for medical-related queries, we concluded that Google Scholar, PubMed and Mendeley offered different, but sufficiently selective and relevant lists of documents and articles. The analysis of tools for reference managing, based on comparative analysis of functionality and our experience, singled out the desktop software tool Mendeley as the most applicable. Conclusions: Writing professional articles faces two completely opposite problems: the lack of information and excessive information. Our research was focused on the problem of information overload, that is: how to select only relevant sources and which software tools are appropriate for managing the collected references. We found out that the combined use of specialized search engines and Web services provide meaningful and relevant sources of information, and that the reference manager tool significantly facilitates reviewing and citation of references, while supporting and affirming teamwork as well.