Paul Bain, PhD, MLIS
Reference and Education Librarian, Harvard Countway Library 

Overview: Clinicians and researchers use PubMed daily to find resources that inform their work. Yet making efficient searches is a skill that requires knowledge, planning, practice, and creativity. Guided by a librarian and expert searcher, participants will learn how to ask strong research questions and to transform them into effective strategies. The workshop will also be a chance to see how PubMed's new interface can make searching easier. Please come with a laptop and a clinical or research scenario that has raised questions to which you'd like answers.

Objectives: At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to

1. Distinguish foreground from background questions, and know which information resources are best suited to addressing each;
2. Construct hypothesis-based questions that support efficient information retrieval 
3. Cast effective, simple searches using PubMed's new interface;
4. Apply MeSH terms and subheadings to focus or broaden difficult searches.

Accreditation Statement

The Harvard Medical School is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The Harvard Medical School designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.