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#7462 - 10/11/04 07:56 AM
How do you research?
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meri
Member
Registered: 09/08/01
Posts: 8822
Loc: Murrieta, California
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Here it is. Anyone who feels like joining in with tips on how they go about researching, please do! I am hoping we get some response to this because I think it can benefit so many people!
Thanks!
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#7463 - 10/11/04 08:13 AM
Re: How do you research?
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midnightMT
Member
Registered: 06/05/04
Posts: 280
Loc: Tennessee
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Yeah, Meri, so glad you started this!!! I am still suffering from the old school syndrome and sure could use tips on using the internet. I still mostly go for my books first (slow, I know), then will turn to Google, then come here and do searches. I absolutely KNOW there are faster ways to do this, so I am looking forward to the answers from people who have relied heavily on search engines, etc. Please do include in your responses what the difference is if you put something in quotes or with + or - since I am still learning these tricks!
Heeeeere fishy, fishy! 
_________________________
Children want to fight the world - but they keep returning home for ammunition
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#7464 - 10/11/04 08:18 AM
Re: How do you research?
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JRTlover
Member
Registered: 03/16/04
Posts: 899
Loc: Maryland
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I'm going to show my computer search ignorance here, but I have no idea what midnightMT means by using quotes or + and -? I have heard people suggest here to use a *with a word or part of a word, and have heard the term "fuzzylist" Have no idea where that is either, or how to get there. Also, just wanted to re-mention about the huge word lists right here at MT CHAT, its somewhere in the tabs at the top of the screen, sorry, I'm not seeing it now while I'm posting, but they are there, and there's different ones too. Jen
One more thing, it is much easier to find a noun when you're looking for it, but say you have a stumper verb or adjective, they are harder to find, any hints?OK- finally found an example- I heard "Status-post tranjiclly elevated TSH." Doc says word funny, turns out it was transiently. But how could I find something like that?
Edited by JRTlover (10/11/04 08:33 AM)
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#7465 - 10/11/04 08:22 AM
Re: How do you research?
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midnightMT
Member
Registered: 06/05/04
Posts: 280
Loc: Tennessee
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JRT - your post reflects exactly what I mean. I have read posts that have said "put it in quotes" and others that have used the +/-, which from what I gather is short for "I want this word in there, but don't give me answers with the - words in it." All so confusing.  (sorry, just had to use this cute little fella).
_________________________
Children want to fight the world - but they keep returning home for ammunition
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#7466 - 10/11/04 09:12 AM
Re: How do you research?
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J. Rose
Member
Registered: 07/10/01
Posts: 1837
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JRT and Midnight - what a relief it is to know I am not the only sorta clueless person around here (no offense intended, you know what I mean  )!
Sometimes I feel like my tech questions are too dumb to even ask! I normally follow what Midnight described above - books first, then googling, etc.
Meri, this is a great question and I'm looking forward to the answers! 
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#7467 - 10/11/04 09:44 AM
Re: How do you research?
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aurora_borealis
Member
Registered: 07/02/99
Posts: 1323
Loc: The U.P.
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I don't have the time right now to get as involved in this discussion as I would like, but for a start, here's a link to Google search instructions that you may find helpful. I learned a couple things I didn't know by checking this out, too.
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#7468 - 10/11/04 10:20 AM
Re: How do you research?
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Jen
Member
Registered: 09/22/03
Posts: 855
Loc: Slidell, LA
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Gonna try to clarify the whole +/-/= thing a little...
If you Google the words big yellow purplesmurf, Google (or whichever search engine) will return hits to sites that contain any of your 3 words in any order.
If you refine the search to big +yellow purplesmurf, your results will be limited to hits that absolutely contain the word yellow.
Say your results seem to include a lot of references to widgets, and you are absolutely certain that the answer you're looking for has nothing to do with widgets. You can further refine the search by adding -widget. The minus sign in front of a word means that no results containing that word will be returned.
Putting a phrase in quotes means that the engine will look for those words in that particular order. To take it a step further, if you know for certain that the phrase yellow purplesmurf is part of your answer, searching for +"yellow purplesmurf" will limit results to those containing that phrase.
Fuzzy searches refer to the ability to use * in place of letters about which you are unsure. I have heard that this can be done with Google, but I've not been able to make it work, so maybe someone can come along and explain that. OneLook.com, though, is a great tool for helping you find words/phrases when you're only sure of some of the letters. Depending on how many and which letters you're sure of, the list of possibilities can be long, but here's the way it works, based on a word I had to hunt for not long after I started as an MT.
Doc said what s/l sin-ick-ia, and I knew it had to with the eyes. I went to OneLook and searched for s*n*kia. I was given a list of all words/phrases that match that pattern. Well, my word wasn't there. I tried s*n*chia and there it was -- synechia!
RxList.com is another cool site -- You type in your best guess at a drug name and it'll return anything remotely close (and sometimes not so close, but still a help).
AdvanceRx will allow you to search for all drugs beginning with a particular letter or containing a group of letters. I don't know if they allow wildcard (*) searches.
Sorry if this is a bit wordy. I've learned so much here that I'd love to be able to give a little back 
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#7469 - 10/11/04 10:27 AM
Re: How do you research?
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meri
Member
Registered: 09/08/01
Posts: 8822
Loc: Murrieta, California
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In using the * feature...I do that a lot. For intance if you google in aortic *osis...because maybe you can hear the last part of stenosis...you will get hits that will come up like "aortic stenosis. You will see your word in there, usually without even having to open up the site that it brings up (although I am not suggesting that, but sometimes you just need to see that word in print and you know now that you can hear it in your report).
I love this feature.
Edited by meri (10/11/04 10:28 AM)
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#7470 - 10/11/04 10:41 AM
Re: How do you research?
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ExMT
Member
Registered: 07/11/04
Posts: 358
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Thanks to Merck, I offer the following search tips for the word arm. These methods are often referred to as Boolian:
Typically a search for the word arm would give you a list of documents that contain the words arm, arms, harm and other variations. Here are some examples to help you refine your list. To search for the specific word, without the variations, put the word in quotes: "arm"
That way, your search will only deliver documents including the word arm.
* To further confine the search to the word arm with a capital
letter, type: "Arm".
* If you enter the words broken arm — or broken, arm — your search will deliver all results containing the word broken and the word arm — but not necessarily together.
* To find results that contain the exact phrase broken arm, you must put the term in quotes: "broken arm"
* If you precede words with a plus sign, as in +broken +arm, your search will find documents with the words or phrases:
broken
arm
broken arm
Or, you can get the same result by searching for: broken AND arm.
If you search for broken +arm, your results will list documents that contain arm, but may or may not contain broken.
Be sure to include a space before plus signs, and no space after.
* If you want to avoid documents that contain the word arm, but include documents that contain broken, put the minus sign immediately in front of the term you want to avoid. Thus broken -arm will remove all documents with the word arm, listing only those that contain the word broken. Be sure to include a space before the minus sign, and no space after. The minus sign must be next to the second word. You can also use the word NOT instead of a minus sign: broken NOT arm
_________________________
Be prepared.
That's the Boy Scouts' marching song.
Be prepared
As through life you go along.
-- Thanks to Tom Lehrer
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#7471 - 10/11/04 10:44 AM
Re: How do you research?
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meri
Member
Registered: 09/08/01
Posts: 8822
Loc: Murrieta, California
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This is great! Keep 'em coming!
I am trying to think of a sentence or a phrase that would be difficult and show how researching is done by using context of other parts of the report, but my ol' brain is having a hard time.
Suggestions would be appreciated.
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#7472 - 10/11/04 10:59 AM
Re: How do you research?
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ExMT
Member
Registered: 07/11/04
Posts: 358
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One of the most interesting searches I have done recently has been in an effort to find the word "pinna," as in the ear, assuming I did not know its spelling (this was following a long discussion in another thread on this forum). One would think this would be easy, but it actually turned out to be difficult and so my search methods might be useful to critique here.
I first tried Google, which I find to be quickest and easiest (I keep Google loaded at all times so that I can just flip over if I have a problem). I tried p*na, ear p*na, "p*nna," and "ear p*nna" and got nothing. I thought it interesting that in this case Google had no "sounds like" suggestions.
I then went to a variety of medical dictionaries, but few have a wild card feature (use of an asterisk for a missing letter or missing letters). I then went to onelook.com and got too many to look through with p*na, but with p*nna I finally found my answer.
All of these general techniques are useful:
1. Combine your unknown word with a known related word (in this case ear).
2. Try all various possible spellings (in this case penna, pinna, and even panna and ponna -- I think the short vowel sound was heard and so most likely it would have been 2 n's).
3. For body parts, search anatomy sites.
_________________________
Be prepared.
That's the Boy Scouts' marching song.
Be prepared
As through life you go along.
-- Thanks to Tom Lehrer
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#7473 - 10/11/04 12:38 PM
Re: How do you research?
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ExMT
Member
Registered: 07/11/04
Posts: 358
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And finally from me, a list of useful research sites:
Body Parts/Anatomy: http://www.vh.org/adult/provider/anatomy/HumanAnatomy/CrossSectionAtlas.html
Scroll down to see chapter headings. By going to each individual slide, names of parts can be read. Searches for each page can be done by clicking on your browser's Edit and then Find or Find on this page.
Cancer: http://www.cancer.gov/
Different cancers and their treatments.
Diagnoses: Google search on "differential diagnosis" (keep the quotes)
A Google search on "differential diagnopsis" will produce results for a variety of conditions. Use the Search within Results feature at the bottom of the Google page to find a specific condition.
Drugs: www.rxlist.com
Physical exams: http://medinfo.ufl.edu/year1/bcs/clist/ and http://www.meddean.luc.edu/lumen/meded/medicine/pulmonar/pd/contents.htm
Additionally, a Google search on "physical exam" (keep the quotes) will produce examinations for a variety of conditions. Use the Search within Results feature at the bottom of the Google page to find a specific condition. Information from these sites will give words, phrases, and formats typically used in physical exams.
Vocabulary: www.onelook.com;
_________________________
Be prepared.
That's the Boy Scouts' marching song.
Be prepared
As through life you go along.
-- Thanks to Tom Lehrer
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#7474 - 10/11/04 04:37 PM
Re: How do you research?
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Deborah
Member
Registered: 12/31/69
Posts: 3598
Loc: Mobile, AL
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By clicking on the MT Desk tab at the top of the page, you will see Glossary/Terms tab and a Resources tab. Both have a Jump To bar that you can click on for more resources.
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#7475 - 10/11/04 06:38 PM
Re: How do you research?
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Babs
Member
Registered: 11/30/00
Posts: 900
Loc: Billings, MT, USA
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One thing that I have done in the past is to type in the word like it sounds. Then I spellcheck it and look through the suggestions. From there, if there is one that sounds close, I go to the dictionary or (these days) Google or OneLook and verify that it is the correct term for context of the statement. This sometimes helps. Another thing I used to use a lot is a medical word list (the one I have is by Dorland's called Medical Speller - unfortunately it is kind of outdated at this point, from the early 1990's). Then if I find a word I think might work I again use OneLook or Google to verify that it would be a term used in context with the note I am doing. The suggestion above of using terms from the note along with your s/l is a good one also, as long as you again verify it fits with the note you are doing.
I have found that any more I go to OneLook or Google first, then if I don't have any luck I look in my books. It seems much faster and I have better luck because of the suggestions in Google or being able to use * in OneLook. The one place I do use my books is in op notes when looking for surgical tools and equipment, dressings, etc.
I hope these hints help!
Barb 
_________________________
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#7476 - 10/11/04 07:22 PM
Re: How do you research?
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Tate
Member
Registered: 05/02/03
Posts: 4985
Loc: Missouri
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I was just wondering the other day about how to KEEP certain words from coming up in the searches, so thanks for the "minus" hint!
I'll post more of my favorite searching techniques later, but I did just want to add that, in searching for the "pinna" question, maybe I just got lucky, but all I did was do a Google search as:
ear anatomy (without quotes)
and the very first site was a very descriptive diagram of an ear, and the very first topic of discussion was the pinna.
Like I said, maybe I just got lucky, but whenever I am looking for a certain body part, I'll always just type the general area that body part is in, followed by the word "anatomy," (head anatomy, foot anatomy, shoulder anatomy, etc.) and get LOTS of information!
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#7477 - 10/11/04 07:54 PM
Re: How do you research?
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ExMT
Member
Registered: 07/11/04
Posts: 358
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Excellent suggestion about anatomy, ear or otherwise, although it does require understanding that it is an anatomical issue.
It is one of the general things to remember: the overall concept that is involved -- are you looking for a body part, or a disease, or a drug, or a something else. When the specific question is not easily answered (i.e., how do you spell pinna?), try a step-by-step generalization, going from the more narrow to the wider. This does require thinking carefully about what you're looking for and seeking hints that may lead you there.
PS It is in this type of search that lack of high-speed connection will have an effect on your productivity. You will probably find it eventually, but it will take you far longer to do so if you only have dial-up as I do.
Edited by ExMT (10/11/04 07:58 PM)
_________________________
Be prepared.
That's the Boy Scouts' marching song.
Be prepared
As through life you go along.
-- Thanks to Tom Lehrer
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#7478 - 10/11/04 08:20 PM
Re: How do you research?
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bobbcat
Member
Registered: 03/27/03
Posts: 6981
Loc: My office.
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The short list of must-have refrences that I'd rather not do without: Tarascon's Pocket Pharmacopoeia-you can look up drugs in seconds and also look up according to condition; Quick Look Drug book; Quarterly Drug Index (company I work for provides this for free); Stedman's Anatomy and Physiology Words; The Medical Phrase Index; Stedman's Abbreviations..; Stedman's Medical and Surgical Words. I have others which came with my package offered by M-TEC. I think it is wise to have references that are specific to the type of accounts you transcribe for. Example I have Stedman's Emergency Medicine words on CD. Comes in handy, as it allows wildcard entries and you can add obscure drugs and other terms into a library of terms.
Online resources I would never do without: Onelook.com; http://www.rxlist.com/; http://www.buildingbetterhealth.com/drugindex; http://www.prenhall.com/medtransoriginal/wordlist/medicalese.htm.
Onelook and the first drug site accepts wildcard entries, the 2nd one offers drugs listed according to condition. There are others, but the ones listed above I use most frequently.
_________________________
Bottom line, it's either M-TEC or Andrews.
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#7479 - 10/12/04 06:41 AM
Re: How do you research?
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Lvgonadream
Junior Member
Registered: 10/02/04
Posts: 47
Loc: Michigan
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Google also has an "advanced search" option where you fill in the words and don't have to remember all the tags, i.e., +/- "__", etc.
Drugdigest.com I've found to be extremely helpful You can just type in the letter "d" for instance if you're only hearing the first letter and maybe some syllables from the rest - I then use my browser to seach (edit-find on page), i.e., d -metha might be all I hear, so I enter "d" in search, pulls up all of the rx and homo drugs that begin with the letter d. I do a "find on page" for metha - BINGO - dexamethasone!
Doctor names is another thing that drives me NUTS - I use Healthgrades.com - only do a physician name search, not the speciality search (waste of time as they want you to pay for a report), also with a s/l check box. This is nationwide.
For names of Hospitals and Clinics I use theagapecenter.com this is also a nationwide search.
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#7480 - 10/12/04 06:53 AM
Re: How do you research?
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Jabberwocky
Member
Registered: 08/10/03
Posts: 389
Loc: Mumbai, India
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1. Get the soft copies of all the Stedman's books. Take a look at all of them that are available: Electronic References
Remember that the Stedman's searches are case sensitive. An A* search will get you totally different hits from an a* search.
2. The AMA directory of physicians on CD available on the AMA website - if you have this, you'll never have to go to a website again (well, almost). The only problem is the $750 price but you can search from 17 different parameters including a first letter wildcard search for first/last names, etc!
3. QLEDR:
a) "Search content" in QLEDR instead of just an index search if you want to search for a drug that has a dosage of "30 mg."
b) The "Keyword search" in QLEDR is a great help if you want to search for all depression drugs for instance.
4. Use keyboard shortcuts as much as can. In QLEDR, an Alt+V+Enter will take you to the search index from anywhere in the software. F2 and F4 are similarly useful in Stedman's for index and headword (wildcard) searches.
5. The order of searching:
Type out in a word doc, right click to see what the spellcheck prompts, then (ideally) go to the books (which I'm usually too lazy to do), and then go to Google/Onelook.
Google can't return hits for partial words like *tion etc like Onelook can as somebody pointed out. And you can use 2 or more wildcards (eg - "* * word" if it's a 3-word phrase. The key to wildcards is the words you put alongside the phrase in quotes. Start off with the most general search - then keep adding more words as you narrow your search. No rules here. And one more thing - download the google toolbar and make google your homepage - that saves some more time.
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#7481 - 10/12/04 08:17 AM
Re: How do you research?
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ExMT
Member
Registered: 07/11/04
Posts: 358
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Quote:
And one more thing - download the google toolbar and make google your homepage - that saves some more time.
Additionally, in Internet Explorer (I don't know about Netscape or Opera), once you have landed on a site, you can add it to your favorites list and when adding can put it in the Links folder. By doing that, it will come up on your toolbar at the top of the browser, ready for use with just a click.
My present version of IE uses Google as the default searcher, and so clicking on the Search button with (the magnifying glass icon) brings up a little Google window to the left of my main screen. I can do a search from there and then click on the result I want.
Although I am sure most readers here know, I will also note for those who might not, that the Alt-Tab combination in Windows will show you all programs currently loaded and so you can easily jump back and forth from your work to your browser and back again.
_________________________
Be prepared.
That's the Boy Scouts' marching song.
Be prepared
As through life you go along.
-- Thanks to Tom Lehrer
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