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Tuesday, February 21, 2023

The national searching guidance @NHSKFH

A very useful document is The national searching guidance, which has been updated this month (February 2023) and is scheduled to be reviewed regularly. It is produced by library and knowledge workers in the UK's National Health Service (NHS). It starts with guidance for each stage of an evidence search (i.e. planning, execution, results). Although the focus is on searches related to health (since it is "intended for Knowledge and Library Services (KLS) staff tasked with searching the evidence on behalf of NHS staff.") these general guidelines and prompts are more widely useful.
Following general guidance on each stage of a search are sections with detailed guidance for specific types of search. They follow the same structure of planning-execution-results. Some types of search (e.g. Evidence Searching for Commissioning) are specific to the NHS, but others (e.g. Evidence Searching for Coursework/Study or Evidence Searching for a Business Case) provide a useful framework for other subject areas/sectors as well.
The planning-execution-results format is very useful, for example, in the Evidence Searching for Patient Information: Creating Information Resources for Patients section, where the Results section includes links to good-quality guidance on how to write for non-specialists. Go to  https://sites.google.com/site/healthliteraturesearchers/the-national-searching-guidance
This document is embedded in the Searching and Training Forums Wiki, again maintained by library and information professionals in the NHS which has other useful sections e.g. to do with search tools. https://sites.google.com/site/healthliteraturesearchers/Home
Photo by Sheila Webber: street trees at dusk, February 2023

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