Conducting a Library Search

            The process of scholarly inquiry begins with conducting a search of the literature from the library. The search criteria require a proper choice of the Boolean terminology that affects the search results. The library search entails the selection of a topic and use of the terms in the topic to conduct the search. The researcher narrows to the specific terms to apply and then search for evidence related to the topic. The last step involves the analysis of the literature, synthesis of information, and proper organization of the document to align with the text (Kent, 2005).

 In the essay provided, there is a description of a summary of the search results in the process of conducting a library search.

            The topic selected for the practice is “colorectal cancer prevention.” The first scholarly database used to find the information is the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. The search criteria involved the selection of the keywords to use which is a phrase, “colorectal cancer prevention.” My initial search generated 254 search results and refined the search by year of publication (2011 to 2015) as well as the selection of the peer-reviewed journals only. After narrowing the search criteria, I ended with 75 search results.

Reflection of the first article selected

            The article is the primary source of information and has preference over the secondary sources. The primary source gives first-hand information to the researcher about the topic of interest. Hence, it is more reliable and appropriate for use as an evidence-based resource. Secondary resources are also applicable to nursing, but usually for interpreting, summarizing, critiquing, or synthesizing the information obtained from the primary resources.

            The authors of the article are Temraz, S., Mukherji, D., and Shamseddine, A. They are experts in the field of study thereby provides credible and reliable information about the topic. The information is relevant to the fact that it aligns with the topic and also underwent a peer review process. The year of publication is 2013, hence has current information.

            The second database used in the library search is Medline with Full Text. The keyword used for the initial search is the phrase “colorectal cancer prevention”. The results obtained were 507 articles and required narrowing down to identify more precise results. The method used involved the Boolean logic having the term AND. I used all caps to add the search category using the phrase, “cancer prevention” and the field TX All Text. The generated results were 499. 

Reflection

            The article has many authors that include; Sehdev, A., Shih, Y. T., Vekhter, B., Bissonnette, M. B., Olopade, O. I., and Polite, B. N. They help in enhancing the level of confidence on the content in the text as well as its reliability. Their credentials are not available in the public domain but are in the Section of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine, and the University of Chicago. Thus, they have the required qualifications to provide the information. The information provided is current and published in 2015. It is also a peer-reviewed article to enhance its credibility for use in research. The article is relevant to the topic since it provides information on colorectal cancer prevention as the search topic.

            Peer review is a comprehensive process that involves an analysis of a journal before its publication by experts in the field. 

            In conclusion, the process of conducting a library search should be the route course towards having credible and reliable resources to research. As such, it requires that the researcher follows the discussed guidelines and also makes use of databases that have proven reliability.

References

Kent, M. (2005). Conducting better research: Google Scholar and the future of search technology: Public Relations Quarterly, 35-40.

Sehdev, A., Shih, Y. T., Vekhter, B., Bissonnette, M. B., Olopade, O. I., & Polite, B. N. (2015). Metformin for primary colorectal cancer prevention in patients with diabetes: a case-control study in a US population. Cancer, 121(7), 1071-1078. doi:10.1002/cncr.29165

Temraz, S., Mukherji, D., & Shamseddine, A. (2013). Potential Targets for Colorectal Cancer       Prevention. International Journal Of Molecular Sciences, 14(9), 17279-17303.   doi:10.3390/ijms140917279

 Sherry Roberts is the author of this paper. A senior editor at MeldaResearch.Com in article critique writing service if you need a similar paper you can place your order for top research paper writing companies.