Inform ation Sources in Physiotherapy p h y s io th e ra p y , F e b ru a ry 19 86 , vo l 4 2 n o 1 5 s. F. ROSSOUW SUMMARY The need for research workers to be thoroughly familiar with the literature is briefly discussed against the background *of the information explosion. Methods of staying abreast of the current literature, as well as information sources and services available to obtain in-depth retro­ spective literature searches in physiotherapy are described, with emphasis on the major indexing and retrieval sources available in South Africa. OPSOMMING ! Die noodsaaklikheid dat navorsingswerkers | heeltemal bekend met die literatuur moet wees ; word kortliks bespreek teen die agtergrond van die inligtingsuitbarsting. Wyse word beskryf om op hoogte van die huidige literatuur te bly, asook inligtingsbronne en -dienste wat beskik- baar is vir indiepte terugwerkende literatuur- ! deursoeke in fisioterapie met die klem op die hoof indeks- en herkrygingsbronne wat in Suid-Afrika beskikbaar is. IN T R O D U C T IO N A p rim e re q u ire m e n t in th e ex e c u tio n o f re se a rc h o f w h atev er n a tu r e is to e n su re th a t th e e ffo rt is n o t a re p e a t o f re se a rc h a lre a d y ca rrie d o u t by so m eo n e else. In these d ay s o f scarce reso u rces th a t w ould be u n fo r­ givable. In ad d itio n , one needs to be th o ro u g h ly fam iliar w ith the p resen t sta te o f know ledge on th e subject. T o o b ta in the m o st recent in fo rm a tio n sources o f an in fo rm al n a tu re can o ften be ta p p e d , such as ta lk in g to an e x p e rt o r m em b ers o f th e so -calle d invisible colleges th a t ex ist fo r all disciplines. In gen eral h ow ever, a co m p reh en siv e overview can o n ly be o b ta in e d by using the fo rm a l m e d ia co n sistin g o f jo u r n a l an d review articles, m o n o g ra p h s, an d in d ex in g a n d a b stra c tin g sources. T H E G R O W T H O F T H E L IT E R A T U R E Since the a p p earan ce o f the first ten scientific jo u rn a ls d u rin g th e p e rio d I665 to I750, th e n u m b e r o f jo u r n a ls has increased co n sisten tly , by a fa c to r o f alm o st ten every fifty years. T o d a y ’s re s e a rc h e r th e re fo re h as to d eal w ith a n e x p o n e n tia l increase in the lite ra tu re , th e so-called in fo rm a tio n e x p lo s io n .1 By 1850, w hen th e re w ere a b o u t 300 jo u r n a ls , k n o w n as the p rim a ry lite ra tu re , th e research er could no longer keep up to d a te w ith e v e ry th in g b ein g p u b lish e d o n his subject. T h e a b s tra c tin g an d in d ex in g jo u r n a ls m ade th e ir a p p e a ra n c e at this stage in an e ffo rt to c o n tro l the p rim a ry lite ra tu re . T o d a y th e re are m o re th a n 300 o f these se c o n d a ry in fo rm a tio n sources, each one covering a b ro ad a re a o f science. S. F. Rossouw, D .Phil. Institute for Medical L iterature, Medical Research Council, P.O. Box 70, Tygerberg 7505. T h e usefulness o f lite ra tu re has its ow n half-life th a t varies w ith th e discipline. F o r research p u rp o se s the m o s t recen t in fo rm a tio n is n a tu ra lly o f p rim a ry im p o r­ tance. F o r th is reaso n , and especially so in m edicine, th e jo u r n a l lite ra tu re is th e m a jo r so u rc e o f recen t in fo rm a tio n . T h e m e th o d s an d guides av ailab le to retrie v e p u b ­ lished in fo rm a tio n have im p ro v ed g re a tly o v er th e past d ecad e. If th e re s e a rc h e r will ta k e th e tr o u b le o f a c q u a in tin g him self w ith these m eth o d s an d so u rces he will have to d ev o te m uch less tim e to th e search fo r lite ra tu re . T his article describes som e o f th e m e th o d s and services th a t are av ailab le fo r this p u rp o se. C U R R E N T L IT E R A T U R E T o stay a b re a s t o f th e c u rre n t lite ra tu re in o n e ’s ow n field, it is c u sto m a ry to reg u larly scan new jo u r n a ls c o v erin g th e su b ject. S E R L IN E , the U S N a tio n a l L ib ­ rary o f M e d ic in e ’s c a ta lo g u e o f b io m ed ical serials id en ­ tifies n o few er th a n 43 c u rr e n t jo u r n a ls d ev o ted to p h y sio th e ra p y . (See A p p e n d ix 1.) O b v io u sly n o t all o f these jo u r n a ls are o f th e sam e s ta n d in g an d som e o f th em , especially th o se o f p ro fe s­ sio n al a sso ciatio n s in o u t-o f-th e-w ay p a rts o f the w orld, can be ig n o re d . T h is w ill h o w ev er still leave one w ith a c o n sid e ra b le n u m b e r th a t m ay well be co m p u lso ry reading. T o m ak e m a tte rs w orse, th ere are a large n u m b e r o f excellent articles o f relevance to p h y sio th e ra p ists being p u b lish ed in gen eral m ed ical p erio d icals such as the S o u th A fric a n M e d ic a l Jo u rn a l, o r in jo u r n a ls largely dev o ted to o th e r disciplines, e.g. J o u r n a l o f M e n ta l D eficien cy R esearch o r J o u r n a l o f Pediatrics. By rig o ro u sly selecting, w ith in th e lim its b o th o f av ailab le fu n d s and tim e in w hich to re a d , a few core R ep ro du ce d by S ab in et G at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e P ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 3. ) 6 F is io te ra p ie , F e b r u a r ie 1 9 8 6 , d e e l 4 2 n o 1 jo u r n a ls w ithin the field can be su b scrib ed to o r fo u n d on the lib rary shelves.2 T his th en still leaves the p ro b lem o f m a k in g sure th a t one d o es n o t m iss p e rtin e n t articles a p p e a rin g in o th e r jo u rn a ls . A ID S TO C U R R E N T A W A R E N E S S M ost m edical libraries subscribe to C urrent C ontents, an easy-to-scan, pocket-sized p u b lic a tio n w hich disp lays tab les o f co n te n ts fro m th o u s a n d s o f th e w o rld ’s leading jo u r n a ls . P u b lish e d w eekly, th e tw o e d itio n s o f in terest in k eep in g c u rr e n t w ith lite r a tu re in p h y s io th e ra p y are L ife Sciences a n d C linical P ractice respectively. A lth o u g h C u rren t C o n te n ts will b rin g articles fro m th o se jo u r n a ls n o t p erso n a lly seen to o n e ’s n o tice, c o m p le te w ith th e a u t h o r ’s a d d re ss f o r re q u e s tin g re p rin ts, q u ite o ften titles o f articles are n o t a g ood en o u g h clue as to th e ir co n ten ts. T his p ro b le m can be ov erco m e by ta k in g o u t a su b scrip tio n to a co m p u terised cu rre n t aw areness service w hich will selectively bring references to relevant articles selected fro m th o u s a n d s o f jo u r n a ls to o n e ’s n o tice, u su ally in c lu d in g an a b s tra c t o r s u m m a ry o f th e article. T h is service is k n o w n as Selective D iss e m in a tio n o f In fo rm a tio n (S D I) an d can be o b ta in e d th ro u g h m o st libraries as well as th ro u g h the M edical R esearch C o u n ­ cil’s In stitu te fo r M edical L iteratu re. R E T R O SP E C T IV E L IT E R A T U R E S E A R C H E S T h e biggest p ro b le m facing the re se a rc h e r at th e s ta rt o f a p ro je c t is w h e th e r, in sp ite o f his e ffo rts to re m a in fa m ilia r w ith c u rr e n t kn o w led g e, he has com e across all the p u b lish ed lite ra tu re on th a t p a rtic u la r topic. R eview ing th e lite ra tu re is the only w ay to find o u t w h a t th e sta te o f ex istin g kno w led g e is, to gain the m o s t in fo rm e d a p p ro a c h to the to p ic, an d to avoid re d u p lic a tio n o f e ff o rt.3 In view o f the v a st’lite ra tu re in m edicine an d th e p a ra -m e d ic a l sciences, th is p resen ts a real p roblem . T h e tr a d itio n a l w ay o f search in g the lite ra tu re is o f co u rse to c o n su lt a b s tra c tin g an d in d ex in g sources, th e se c o n d a ry lite r a tu re referred to ab o v e. All o f these sources are av ailab le in p rin te d fo rm in m o st libraries an d include the w ell-know n I n d e x M edicus. D e p e n d in g o n th e e x h au stiv en ess o f th e search and th e p erio d to be co v ered , c o n sid e ra b le tim e can be ex p en d ed in c a rry in g o u t a co m p reh en siv e search o f the lite ra tu re by m ean s o f p rin te d indexes. T h e m ain re a s o n fo r th is is th a t o n e c a n lo o k u n d e r o n ly one h e a d in g o r key w o rd at a tim e an d m u st re p e a t th is process th ro u g h all o f th e years to be covered. D u e to th e c o m p u te riz a tio n o f ty p e s e ttin g d u rin g th e la s t tw o d e c a d e s,4 all o f th ese p rin te d in d e x e s now also exist as c o m p u te rise d d a ta b a se s w hich can accu rately be search ed at g re a t speed. Q u ite c o m p lex search es can be ca rrie d o u t in w hich all th e facets o f a search are linked in one ru n , retriev in g highly relev an t citatio n s. By g e ttin g to k n o w m o re a b o u t these d a ta b a s e s , the su b ject co v erag e o f each , w hich jo u r n a ls an d o th e r m a te ria l are in clu d ed , and the w ay th e m a te ria l is in dexed an d p re se n te d , the res e a rc h e r will be able to find relev an t in fo rm a tio n fa s te r an d m o re effectively. W h en using a p a rtic u la r p rin te d so u rce fo r th e first tim e, it is ad v isab le to o b ta in g u id an ce fro m th e lib ra ry staff, as th ey are well a c q u a in te d w ith these tools. C o m p u te r search es o f th e d a ta b a s e s c a n be o b ta in e d t h o u g h in f o r m a t io n c e n tr e s su c h as th e M e d ic a l R esearch C o u n c il’s In stitu te fo r M edical L ite ra tu re . B IO M E D IC A L D A T A B A S E S C O V ER IN G P H Y S IO T H E R A P Y T h e re is as y et n o single so u rce c o v erin g all the lite ra tu re in th e field o f p h y sio th e ra p y , the closest being E x c e rp ta M e d ic o ’s S ectio n 19: R e h a b ilita tio n an d P h y ­ sical M edicine. F o r a c o m p reh en siv e search it is th e re ­ fore necessary to c o n su lt m ore th a n one o f the secondary sources. Even such u nlikely sources as engineering in d ex es m ay c o n ta in su rp risin g ly relev an t c ita tio n s in th e field o f p h y sio th erap y . A lth o u g h th is article stresses c o m p u te rise d databases* it s h o u ld be rem e m b e re d th a t they g en erally p r o v id e ' co v erag e o f the lite ra tu re o n ly fo r th e last 15 to 20 years. T h e p rin te d c o u n te r p a rts go m u ch fu r th e r back an d sh o u ld be used if necessary. Index M ed icu s/M E D L IN E T h e o ld est an d p ro b a b ly m o st used in d e x to the m ed ical lite ra tu re , in c lu d in g physical th e ra p y , is a m o n th ly p u b lic a tio n o f th e U S N a tio n a l L ib ra ry o f M ed icin e called I n d e x M ed icu s. U n d e r a succession o f titles it has a p p e a re d since 1879 an d to d a y indexes som e 2 500 biom edical jo u rn a ls fro m all over th e w o rld ,5 in c lu d in g 28 d e v o te d to physical th e ra p y , re h a b ilita tio n a n d s p o rts m edicine. B efore c o m m en cin g a search o f I n d e x M e d ic u s it is ad v isab le to c o n su lt the th e s a u ru s used in in d ex in g the articles. T h is w o rd list, k n o w n as M ed ical S ubject H e a d in g s (M e S H ), is p u b lish e d a n n u a lly w ith the J a n u a r y issue. T h e a lp h a b e tic a l p a r t o f M e S H provides cro ss references betw een te rm s, an d leads one to m ore g en eral o r m o re specific te rm s o r to re la te d term s. T h e head in g s o f all m edical subjects c u rre n tly in use are a rra n g e d in a h ie ra rc h ia l m a n n e r sh o w in g relationships^ b etw een b ro a d e r an d n a rro w e r term s in th a t section o f th e M eS H p u b lic a tio n k n o w n as the T ree S tru c tu re s . It is s tro n g ly re c o m m e n d e d th a t th e T rees be co n su lted to id e n tify all re le v a n t te rm s to co v er th e to p ic before c o m m e n c in g a search o f th e a lp h a b e tic a lly a rran g ed I n d e x M edicus. T h e c o n te n ts o f all issues o f I n d e x M e d ic u s from 1966 up to the p re s e n t are c o m p u te r-s e a rc h a b le in an o n lin e d a ta b a s e k n o w n as M E D L IN E . T his enables o n e to lin k k ey w o rd s ( o r ra th e r M esh H ead in g s) d e n o tin g v a rio u s aspects o f a to p ic, th u s o v ercom ing the lim ita tio n s o f single w ord search in g in th e p rinted index. A search th ro u g h I n d e x M e d ic u s fo r lite ra tu re on the m an ag e m en t o f p h a n to m lim b p a in by m ean s o f electro- th e ra p y , fo r in s ta n c e , w o u ld ta k e a fa ir a m o u n t o f tim e — all o f th e c u rr e n t y e a r ’s m o n th ly issues, an d som e­ tim es th o se o f the p rev io u s y e a r ’s as well, w ould have R ep ro du ce d by S ab in et G at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e P ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 3. ) p h y s io th e ra p y , F e b ru a ry 1 9 8 6 , vo l 4 2 n o 1 7 to be in d iv id u ally scan n ed , follow ed by search in g o f the an n u al c u m u la tio n s o f e a rlie r years. T o search back to 1966 a t an av erag e o f 3 m in u tes p e r an n u a l volum e w ould ta k e a t least 60 m in u te s m erely lo c a tin g the c en tral c o n c e p t (p h a n to m lim b) an d sc a n n in g titles fo r the o th e r aspects, i.e. p ain and e le c tro th e ra p y . D o in g th e s a m e s e a r c h o n th e c o n s o l i d a t e d M E D L IN E file (1966-1985) w ith a c o m b in a tio n o f all three relev an t M eS H h e ad in g s (E le c tro th e ra p y a n d P h a n to m L im b a n d P a in ) to o k e x a c tly 39 seconds to estab lish th a t 14 articles w ere p u b lish ed in this p erio d . O ne has the fu r th e r a d v a n ta g e th a t th e c o m p u te r p r o ­ duces a nicely p rin te d b ib lio g ra p h y , in clu d in g a b stra c ts fo r a b o u t h a lf th e citatio n s. M u ch m o re co m p lic a te d searches can as easily be p erfo rm ed w ith M E D L IN E . O th e r a d v an ta g es include the capability to lim it retrieval to articles fro m p a rtic u la r tim e p erio d s, to articles in specific languages, o r dealing w ith e x p e rim e n ta l o r clinical research o r p ra c tic e , or lim ited by age g ro u p o r sex. V ery new c o n cep ts n o t yet rep resen ted in M e S H , o r even buzz w o rd s o r ja r g o n w ords, can be retrieved fro m th e d a ta b a s e if used in titles o r a b stra c ts o f articles. Excerpta M e d ica /E M B A S E T h e E x c e rp ta M ed ica d a ta b a s e (E M B A S E ) c o n ta in s biom edical an d p h a rm a c e u tic a l in fo rm a tio n ta k e n fro m m ore th a n 3 500 p rim a ry jo u r n a ls p u b lish e d in m an y d ifferen t c o u n trie s an d lan g u ag es. T h e d a ta b a s e is divided in to 46 n u m b e re d sectio n s, c o rre sp o n d in g to b ro ad su b ject areas w hich often coincide w ith a tr a d i­ tio n al m ed ical sp ecialty , an d a p rin te d p u b lic a tio n is p ro d u ced fo r each se c tio n .6 S ectio n 19 is en titled R e h a b ilita tio n a n d P h ysica l M ed icin e a n d can be su b sc rib e d to sep a ra te ly . T h e subdivision o f th is a b s tra c t jo u r n a l reflects the m u lti­ plicity o f aspects o f physical m edicine an d the care o f the d isa b le d w hich it covers. S o m e 15 jo u r n a ls d e v o ted to p h y sio th e ra p y are in dexed fo r this section. In spite o f th e convenience o f h av in g m o s t o f the directly p e rtin e n t lite ra tu re g ro u p e d to g e th e r, it m ay still be n ecessary to c o n s u lt a t le a st seven o f th e o th e r p rin ted sectio n s to o b ta in in f o rm a tio n on to p ics such as a n a to m y , a rth ritis an d rh e u m a tic disease, b io en g in ­ eering, c a rd io v a sc u la r re h a b ilita tio n , exerise physiology o r o rth o p aed ics. All 46 sections fro m 1973 o n w ard s are sim u ltan eo u sly searchable in th e E M B A S E c o m p u te rise d d a ta b a se how ever, a g a in w ith th e co n v en ie n ce o f lin k in g v ario u s aspects an d th e ab ility to lim it retrie v al to tim e perio d s, languages o r th e o th e r p a ra m e te rs alread y m en tio n ed . T h e fo reg o in g tw o d a ta b a s e s will p ro b a b ly betw een them cover th e lite ra tu re o f p h y sio th e ra p y to a very large e x te n t an d can be reg ard ed as a m in im u m fo r re s e a rc h p u r p o s e s . H o w e v e r, fo r v e ry sp e c ia lise d a p p ro a c h e s su ch as p sy c h o lo g ic a l, p h a rm a c e u tic a l, chem ical, e d u c a tio n a l, b io lo g ic a l o r b io e n g in e e rin g aspects o f d a ta b a se s p h y sio th e ra p y , a sp e c tru m o f o th e r d atab a ses m ay have to be c o n su lte d .7'8 S om e o f these d a ta b a se s will be m e n tio n e d very briefly, w ith a sam ple c ita tio n fro m each to illu strate th e type o f in f o rm a tio n th a t can be o b ta in e d fro m them . A lth o u g h a b stra c ts are av ailable in th e d a ta b a se s, they are o m itted fro m th e sam ples. Psychological A bstracts/P S Y C IN F O T his d a ta b a se covers the w o rld ’s lite ra tu re on p sy c h o ­ logy an d allied fields, in c lu d in g tr e a tm e n t an d p re v e n ­ tio n o f p h y sical an d p sy ch o lo g ical d is o rd e rs . P h y sical d is o rd e rs in clu d e c a rd io v a sc u la r, co n g e n ita l, m u s c u lo ­ sk eletal an d re s p ira to ry tra c t d iso rd ers. T h e tre a tm e n t c ate g o ry also covers th e use o f tre a tm e n t tech n iq u es o th e r th a n p sy c h o th e ra p y , in clu d in g speech th e ra p y , surgical tech n iq u es an d m edical tre a tm e n t m e th o d s, an d o c c u p a tio n a l p h y sio th e ra p y . P ro d u ced by the A m erican P sychological A ssociation, P sychological A b str a c ts co n tain s citatio n s w ith a b stracts fro m jo u r n a ls , re p o rts, serial p u b lic a tio n s an d o th e r sources. T h e c o m p u te rise d d a ta b a s e , P S Y C IN F O , has a d d itio n a l m a te ria l fro m D isserta tio n A b stra c ts. R e tr o ­ spective searches o f th e lite ra tu re going back to 1967 are po ssib le.9 S am p le c ita tio n 72-18357 B ehavioral physical th e ra p y an d sp in a bifida: A case study. R a p p o rt, M a rk D .; Bailey, J o n S. U R h o d e Islan d , K in g sto n . J o u r n a l o f P e d ia tric P sy ch o lo g y , 1985 M a r Vol 10(1) 87-96. B iological A b stracts/B IO S IS J u s t as th e p sy c h o lo g ic a l fa c to rs p la y in g a p a r t in tr e a tm e n t are o f in te re st to th e p h y s io th e ra p is t, so to o are th e basic bio lo g ical processes and prin cip les u n d e r­ lying h e a lth an d disease. W h en in fo rm a tio n d ealin g w ith this a sp e c t is re q u ire d , an excellent d a ta b a s e to tu rn to is B IO S IS . T h e c o m p u te rise d B IO S IS c o n ta in s c ita tio n s fro m th e p rin te d B iological A b str a c ts and fro m B A jR e p o r ts , R eview s, M e m o ra n d a . T o g e th e r, they c o n s titu te the m ajo r English language service pro v id in g com prehensive w orld, w ide coverage o f research in the life sciences. T h e d a ta b a s e su b ject co v erag e in clu d es stu d ies on th e p h y sio lo g ical activities an d fu n c tio n s o f a n im al an d ' h u m a n o rg a n s, an d lim bs an d bod y p a rts. E.g. e n d u r­ ance, lo co m o tio n and m etabolic changes d u rin g exercise; p h y sio lo g ical, physical an d e m o tio n a l stress, ten sio n o r sh o ck ; an d stu d ies o n physical exercise, re c re a tio n , sp o rts, p o stu re and p h y s io th e ra p y .10 S am p le c itatio n : 79059762 E lectro m y o g rap h ic b io feed b ack and physical th erap y o f th e hem iplegic u p p e r lim b. Inglis J ; D o n a ld M W ; M o n g a T N ; S p ro u le M; Y o ung M J. D ep . P sy c h o l., Q u e e n ’s U niv., K in g sto n , O n ta rio , K 7L 3N 6, C an. A rch P h y s M ed R e h a b il, 65(12), 1984: 755-759. R ep ro du ce d by S ab in et G at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e P ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 3. ) 8 F is io te ra p ie , F e b r u a r ie 19 86 , d e e l 4 2 n o 1 Chemical A b stracts/C H E M A B S T h e ch em ical reactio n s o f n o rm a l an d p ath o lo g ical states, an d th e reg en eratio n o f m am m a lia n cells, tissues, o r o rg an s, b o th in th e n o rm a l b io ch em istry o f these entities a n d in th e ir recovery fro m tr a u m a o r a p a th o lo ­ gical sta te are o ften o f im p o rta n c e in p h y sio th e ra p y . T h e p rin te d C h em ica l A b s tr a c ts w as sta rte d in 1907, w ith a co m p u terised d a ta b a se available fo r retrospective se a rc h in g fro m 1967 to the p re s e n t d ay . It c o n ta in s E n g lish -lan g u ag e a b s tra c ts an d in d ex es to th e w o rld ’s lite ra tu re o f c h e m is try ." T h e fo llo w in g is a sam p le c ita tio n fro m C H E M A B S : 67041916 C A : 67(9)41916e C o n feren ce P ro ceed in g E ffect o f physical th e ra p y in g a stro in te stin a l tra c t diseases on som e seru m p ro te in indexes. F in o g en o v , V. S. T r. N a u c h n . K o n f. K irg. N a u c h n o -ls s le d . In s t. K u ro rto l. F iz io te r., 3 rd , 1963: 385-90. International Pharm aceutical In d e x /IP A T h e in flu en ce o f m ed icin al d ru g s o n a p a tie n t u n d e r ­ g o in g p h y s io th e ra p y is fre q u e n tly o f in te re s t to th e th e ra p is t w ho m ay re q u ire full in f o rm a tio n fo r p a tie n t c are o r research purposes. T h e IP A d a ta b a s e an d its p rin te d e q u iv a le n t are p ro d u c ts o f th e A m erican S o ciety o f H o sp ita l P h a r m a ­ cists. C o n sistin g o f refei^nces to jo u r n a l articles, the d a ta b a s e covers m o re th a n 600 w o rld w id e p u b lic a tio n s f r o m - 1970 to th e p resen t. T his file, th e re fo re , is the m o st c o m p re h e n siv e o f the p h a rm a c e u tic a l lite ra tu re a b stra c tin g serv ices.12 S am p le citatio n : 9590 22-05514 S ta te o f th e p a in th e ra p y today. K ra in ic k , J . U .; W a isb ro d , H .; H e rlin n g e r, C. S c h m e rz z e n tru m M ain z, N eu ro c h iru rg ia s c h e A btlg., A u f d. Steig 14-16 6500 M ainz, F R G . P h a rm . Ztg. 129: 1894-1897 (A ug. 16) 1984. Science A b stracts/IN S P E C T h e S cien c e A b s tr a c ts fam ily o f a b s tra c t jo u r n a ls , indexes, an d title b u lletin s co m m enced p u b lic a tio n in 1898. T o d a y it is th e largest E n g lish -lan g u ag e d a ta b a se in th e field o f physics, e le c tro te c h n o lo g y , c o m p u te rs an d c o n tro l, an d in fo rm a tio n technology. R etro sp ectiv e search es c a n be d o n e in th e c o m p u te riz e d v ersio n fro m 1976 on w ard s. T o p ic s in b io p h y sics, m edical physics an d bio m ed ical en g in ee rin g are extensively co v ered , e.g. bio p h y sics o f n e u ro p h y sio lo g ic a l processes, bio m ech an ics, te c h n o b io ­ logy o f p a tie n t c are an d tr e a tm e n t su ch as p ro sth e tic s, an d o th e r p ra c tic a l a p p lic a tio n s such as sonic and u ltra so n ic e q u ip m e n t.13 S am p le c itatio n : 1443271 A 85050752, B85026757 M edical u ltra so n ic s W ells, P. N. T. B ristol G en. H o sp ita l, E n g lan d . IE E E S p e c tru m (U S A ), Vol. 21, N o. 12; 44-51 D ec. 1984. E ducational R esources Inform ation C enter/E R IC E R I C is th e c o m p le te d a ta b a s e o n e d u c a tio n a l m a te ria ls, co n sistin g o f tw o m ain files: R e so u rc e s in E d u c a tio n , w hich is co n c e rn e d w ith id en tify in g the m o st sig n ifican t an d tim ely e d u c a tio n research re p o rts a n d p ro jects; an d C u rren t I n d e x to Jo u rn a ls in E d u ca ­ tio n , an in d e x o f m o re th a n 700 p e rio d ic a ls o f in terest to every segm ent o f th e e d u c a tio n a l p ro fe s s io n .14 T opics such as ed u catio n an d tra in in g o f p h y sio th e ra ­ pists, c u rric u lu m p lan n in g , facilities an d staffin g in p h y sio th e ra p y tra in in g , o r th e a p p lic a tio n o f phy sio ­ th e ra p y in gen eral e d u c a tio n can all be search ed fo r in E R IC . T ypical citatio n : E J230420 E C 114699 P h y sio th e ra p y in o rd in a ry schools. D avies, J e a n ; H u n t, A gnes. Special E d u c a tio n : F o rw a rd T re n d s, v7 nl p29-31 M a r 1980. O B T A IN IN G A C O M P U T E R IS E D S E A R C H W ith th e p ro life ra tio n in h o m e an d p e rs o n a l c o m ­ p u te rs, som e o f th e d a ta b a s e v e n d o rs have in tro d u ced so ftw are revisions th a t will e n a b le re s earch ers to do th e ir ow n search in g on d a ta b a s e s .•5' 16,17 N o t all o f these effo rts have been com pletely su ccessfu l.18 It is m ore c u s to m a ry , an d m ostly m o re efficient and cost-effective, to have the search d o n e th r o u g h a lib rary o r in fo rm a tio n service su ch as th a t p ro v id ed by the In s titu te fo r M ed ical L ite ra tu re (IM L ) o f th e S o u th A frican M edical R esearch C o u n cil. IM L has been inv o lv ed in o n lin e s e a rc h in g o f d a ta b a s e s on b e h a lf o f th e b io m ed ical c o m m u n ity since 1976.19 A dvice on th e choice o f th e m o st a p p r o p r ia te d a ta ­ b a s e ^ ) fo r a p a rtic u la r search , an d req u ests fo r re tro ­ spective search es a n d / o r c u rr e n t aw areness s u b s c rip ­ tions, can be su b m itted to IM L by telep h o n e o r th ro u g h th e p o st. It is useful if a p e rs o n a l visit can be m ad e to th e In s titu te as th e re s e a rc h e r can th en be p re s e n t when th e o n lin e search is ca rrie d o u t an d can m ak e sugges­ tio n s to im p ro v e relevancy o f retrieved citatio n s. T h e re is a m o d est o n e-tim e fee p a y a b le fo r each, retro sp ectiv e search to cover th e cost o f teleco m m u n ica­ tio n s, c o m p u te r u sage, a n d p rin t ch arg es. C u rre n t aw aren ess su b s c rip tio n s, w hich p ro v id e th e su b sc rib e r w ith a m o n th ly p r in to u t o f re c e n t references o n his p a rtic u la r to p ic, a re renew able an n u ally . C O N C L U SIO N T h e necessity fo r re se a rc h w o rk ers to be fam iliar w ith th e lite ra tu re is so a p p a re n t th a t it need n o t be stressed. H ow ever, th e d a u n tin g p ro sp e c t o f having to sp en d h o u rs on search in g th e lite ra tu re need no longer be faced as a w ide v ariety o f c o m p u terised d a ta b a se s an d services are av ailab le fo r this p u rp o se. References 1. D oyle LB. In fo rm a tio n retrieval■ a nd processing. Los Angeles: M elville; 1975: 3. R ep ro du ce d by S ab in et G at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e P ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 3. ) p h y s io th e ra p y , F e b ru a ry 19 8 6 , vo l 4 2 n o 1 9 2. Scheckler WE. A realistic jo u rn a l reading plan: the c o r­ nerstone o f continuing m edical education. J A M A 1978; 2 4 8 : 1987-1988. 3. W ilkins R H . P re p a ra tio n of a neurosurgical m anuscript, with em phasis on library research. Clin Neurosurg 1981; 2 8 : 173-192. 4. Miles WD. A history o f the National Library o f Medicine. W ashington, DC: U.S. G P . O , 1982: 368. 5. Rogers FB. Index M edicus in the tw entieth century. In: Blake JB , ed. C entenary o f In d e x M edicus. Bethesda, M D ; N ational L ibrary o f Medicine, 1980: 53-61. 6. G uide to the classification and indexing system. 2nd ed. A m sterdam : E xcerpta Medica, 1984. 7. T enopir C. Online in form ation in the health sciences. Libr. J. 1983; 1 0 8 : 1932-1933. 8. Powell JR . E xcerpta M edica (E M B A SE) online — a reacquaintance. Online 1980; 4 : 36-41. 9. PSY C1N FO user reference m anual. W ashington, DC: American Psychological A ssociation, 1981. 10. BIOSIS Search guide. Philadelphia: BioSciences Inform a­ tion Service, 1985. 11. Subject coverage and arrangem ent of abstracts by sections in Chemical Abstracts. Columbus: Am erican Chemical Society, 1982. 12. Kruse KW. Online searching of the pharm aceutical litera­ ture. A m J. Hosp. Pharm. 1983; 4 0 : 240-253. 13. 1NSPEC user manual. Hitchin, Herts: Institution of Elec­ trical Engineers, 1985. 14. All a bout E R IC . W ashington, DC: U.S. G .P .O ., 1982. 15. O jala M. Knowledge Index: a review. Online 1983; 7: 31-34. 16. Ja n k e RV. B R S /A fte r D ark: the birth of online self- service. Online 1983; 7: 12-29. 17. Doszkocs TE. C IT E N LM : natural-language searching in an online catalog. Info rm a tio n Technol Libr. 1983; 2: 364-80. 18. Griffith JC . Why can ’t 1 do it? Emerging training concerns of end users and online professionals. Online ’83 Conf. Proc. 1983; 77-80. 19. Rossouw SF. Hello from ELH 1LL 3. 5. A fr. Libr. 1976; 4 4 ; 109-112. Appendix 1 PHYSICAL THERAPY JO URNALS A. English language I 1. Abuh Physio. Z aria, N l, Dec 1979— 2. American Jo u rn a l of Physical M edicine. Baltimore, V.31, 1952— 3. Australian Jo u rn a l of Physiotherapy. Sydney, V .l, 1954— 4. Clinics in Physical Therapy. New York, V .l, 1981 — 5. International Perspectives in Physical Therapy. Edin­ burgh, V .l, 1985— • 6. Jo u rn a l of O rthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy. W ashington, V .l, 1979— 7. Medical U ltrasound. New Y ork, V .l, 1977— 8. New Z ealand Jo u rn a l of Physiotherapy. W ellington, V .l, 1938— 9. Physical and O ccupational T herapy in Geriatrics. New York, V .l, 1 9 8 0 - JO. Physical and O ccupational T herapy in Pediatrics. New York, V .l, 1980— 11. Physical Therapy. W ashington,'V .44, 1964— 12. Physiotherapy. L ondon. V.34, 1948— 13. Physiotherapy C anada. T oronto. V.24, 1972— 14. Progress in Medical U ltrasound. Am sterdam . V .l, 1980— 15. U ltrasound Annual. New York. 1982— B. Non-English 1. Acta Belgica. M edica Physica. Bruxelles, V.6, 1983— 2. Annales de Kinesitherapie. Paris, V .l, 1974— 3. Biuletin po K urortologiia, Fizioterapiia i Lechebna Fiz- kultura. Sofia, 1959?— 4. Cahiers de Kinesitherapie. C lerm ont-Ferrand, N l, 1962?— 5. C hung-H ua li Liao T sa Chih. Chinese Jo u rn a l of Physical T herapy. Anshan. 6. Clinica Termale. R O M E , V.2, 1948— 7. D anske Fysioterapeuter. Copenhagen, V.56, 1974— 8. Fizicheskie i K urortyne F a k to ry i ikh Lechebnoe Pri- menenie. Kiev, V.8, 1974— 9. ln te rd isz ip lin a re P h y sio th e rap ie und R e h ab ilitatio n . Erlangen, B d .l, 1982— 10. Journee de Reeducation. Paris, 19747-197? 11. Krankengym nastik. M unich, V .l, 1949— 12. K urortologiia i Fizioterapiia. Kiev, V .10, 1977— 13. K urortologiia i Fizioterapiia. Sofia, V .l, 1964?— 14. Laakintavoim istelija. Fysioterapeuten. Helsinki, 1971? 15. M anualle Medizin. Heidelberg, 1963?— 16. M onographien zur Physikalischen Therapie und Farbtest- psychologie. Bonn, V .l, 1966— 17. Nauchni T rudove — N uachen ln stitut po K urortologiia, F izioterapiia i Rekhabilitatsiia. Sofiia. V. 13, 1976— 18. N ederlands Tijdschrift voor Fysiotherapie. A m sterdam , V. 76, 1966— 19. Param edische C om pendia; Serie A: Algemene Fisio- therapie. Lochem. V .l. 1968— 20. Physiotherapie. Lubeck, 1969?— 21. Rigaku Ryoho to Sagyo Ryoho. Ja p a n ese Jo u rn a l of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy. Tokyo, V.l 1967— 22. Sbornik N auchnykh T rudov; N auchno-lssledovatelskii lnstitut K urortologii i Fizioterapii. Erevan, V.8, 1964— 23. S bornik T ru d o v -A zerb aid zh an sk ii N a u ch n o -lssled o v a ­ telskii ln s titu t K u ro rto lo g ii i F iz ic h e sk ik h M e to d o v Lecheniia im. S.M . Kirova. Baku, V.2, 1956— 24. Sporttherapeutische Praxis. Lubeck, V .l, 1977— 25. Voprosy K urortologii i Fizioterapii. Frunze, 196?— 26. Voprosy K urortologii i Fizioterapii. Tom sk, V .l, 1961 — 27. Zeitschrift fur O rthopadie and ihre Grenzgebiete. S tu tt­ gart, V.64, 1935— 28. Zeitschrift fur Physiotherapie. Leipzig, V.23, 1971 — E R R A T U M P R IV A T E P R A C T IT IO N E R S A SSO C IA T IO N D IR E C T O R Y Please n o te th a t th e c o rre c t a d d re ss o f M rs. A. R o h lo ff M u tu a l B uilding, D a rlin g S treet, C ape T o w n as p rin ted is 59 4 th B each, C lifto n , C a p e T o w n an d n o t O ld in the above d irecto ry . T elep h o n e 021-489609. R ep ro du ce d by S ab in et G at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e P ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 3. )