Finding information for Pharmacy

Read the information below.  Then go to the Activities at the end of this page.

Where do you start looking for information, especially online?

For many, Google is the default search engine.

However, can we rely on what we find there; and how do we make best use of the tools Google offers?

• Remember that Google has certain algorithms based on what searches you have done before.  This may limit results by previous preferences, and mean that it's hard for others to retrieve the same list of items
• However, the Advanced Search screen in particular may provide a useful, more focused search for useful internet material
• Use Settings (bottom right of the Google search screen - ie google.co.uk) and Advanced settings in the pop-up: this will show a page where you can choose domain names eg for government or official sites (gov (US), gov.uk, .eu), specify languages, and enter specific phrases or terms to narrow your search

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You may also wish to try out other search engines using privacy settings, Such as Startpage, which may combine with Google for searching,

Google Scholar is a useful tool for finding academic journal articles. However, it does not have access to all the journals or databases which the Library acquires. Remember to configure Google Scholar to identify material available on FindIt@Bham.

FindIt@Bham  For full access to resources from the University Library,

• ​Sign in to FindIt@Bham (top right) with your Uni login details.
• Signing in to FindIt@Bham also allows Google Scholar to show full text links to University-subscribed articles 

The Library has an online guide for FindIt@Bham and one for Google Scholar. 

Now look at the activities below.

Open up Google UK and look for the settings option at the bottom right.  If you don't see this, look for the Google Search app icon via the dots grid at the top right.

In the pop-up for Settings, select Advanced Search.

• Try a search for antibiotics prescribing exact phrase
• Use the site / domain ending .gov to limit to official UK Government and related material

You can also:

• Note the number of results
• Note which are the top 3 sites or links

Scholar Google is a useful way to do a quick search for useful journal articles.  However, it can be hard to repeat the search, and this may be affected by the algorithms set by Google based on your existing searches.

See the next section and FindIt activities for an alternative way to find journal articles. 

Try a quick search on Scholar Google using 2 or 3 keywords for your topic, eg:

• Antibiotic prescribing pharmacist
• You could add in UK, for example