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Research & Publishing

The Schaffer Library provides basic and advanced levels of literature searching.

The volume of searches in the queue, as well as the comprehensiveness and urgency of a search will determine the turnaround time.

If time-sensitive information is needed for patient care,
call 518-262-5532.

Request a Basic Search

Librarians will perform generalized searches to provide an overview of a subject or answer a specific clinical, research, or health science related question.

Request an Advanced Search

Librarians will perform comprehensive searches to provide an in-depth investigation of the published literature related to clinical or basic science research. This may include:

  • Refining a research question
  • Drafting search strategy for review
  • Providing advice on relevant databases to search
  • Executing search strategies in multiple databases
  • Eliminating duplicate results
  • Creating automated database search alerts
  • Delivering search results
  • Documenting search methodology for manuscript publication

 

There are many types of literature reviews. The most common are described here.

Narrative/Traditional Review

Purpose: To identify literature published in a subject area with the aim of summarizing the findings and drawing conclusions.
Time Frame: Days/weeks to months
Methodology: Analysis of current knowledge on a topic.

Rapid Review

Purpose: To evaluate what is already known about a topic, typically a policy or practice issue.
Time Frame: 2+ months
Methodology: Systematic process with critical appraisal.

Scoping Review

Purpose: To identify the full scope of evidence already published or in progress about a topic with the goal of categorizing key concepts and research gaps. Often used as a preliminary step before conducting a systematic review.
Time Frame: 9+ months
Methodology: Comprehensive assessment of the literature. Thoroughness of search defined by time and scope considerations. Searches must be well-documented according to established standards and with reproducible results; see PRISMA for Scoping Reviews. Typically, a team of two or more reviewers participate.

Integrative Review

Purpose: To apply a combination of varied methodologies to achieve a comprehensive understanding of a topic. It is commonly used in nursing to guide evidence-based practice, provide new perspectives on research topics or inform policy.
Time Frame: 9-12+ months
Methodology: Comprehensive search and analysis that incorporates the findings. A Step-by-Step Guide to Conducting an Integrative Review is a good source of information on integrative reviews.

Systematic Review

This review type is not currently fully supported. Talk with a librarian for more information.

Purpose: To methodically search a topic for research evidence that answers specific questions with the aim of integrating findings and creating evidence-based recommendations.
Time Frame: 1-2+ years
Methodology: Exhaustive structured searches in multiple databases. Searches must be well-documented according to established standards and with reproducible results. Before beginning a systematic review, register the protocol in PROSPERO to avoid duplicating previously registered research. PRISMA guidelines should also be followed. Multiple reviewers are required.

The following articles provide overviews of the wide variety of literature reviews:

Grant MJ, Booth A. A typology of reviews: an analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Info Libr J. 2009 Jun;26(2):91-108. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x. Review. PubMed PMID: 19490148.

Sutton A, Clowes M, Preston L, Booth A. Meeting the review family: exploring review types and associated information retrieval requirements. Health Info Libr J. 2019 Sep;36(3):202-222. doi: 10.1111/hir.12276. PMID: 31541534.

Citation management tools collect and manage bibliographic data. EndNote, explained below, is available for download through Schaffer Library at no cost to Albany Med staff, students and faculty. In addition to EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero and Paperpile are free/low-cost citation management tools available for download.

One-click searches for books and journal articles about medical/scientific writing methods:

Books from the Library collection
Articles from PubMed

Guidelines and advice:

The NCBI Style Guide
Nature Research - How to Write Your Paper
PLOS - Ten Simple (Empirical) Rules for Writing Science

More information on writing, publishing, and plagiarism are available via instructional videos on the Schaffer Library YouTube page.

How to Get Published: Preparing Your Manuscript

Writing for Specific Journals

Locate the Journal's Instruction for authors. Follow guidelines for article types and manuscript and reference styles.

Example: Annals of Internal Medicine Information for Authors

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is passing off another person's work as your own and is a serious writing offense. Learn what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it in your work.

Knowing and Avoiding Plagiarism During Scientific Writing

Traditional Model

Publish in a journal with subscription access wherein users pay for the entire content of the journal or individual articles.

Considerations:

  • Comfort in publishing in a more traditional setting
  • Only those with a subscription have access to the articles
  • Publisher retains copyright*

Open Access Model

"... the free, immediate, online availability of research articles coupled with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment." (SPARC - Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition)

Considerations:

  • Articles are immediately available to the public
  • Open access publishers charge article processing fees
  • Authors retain copyright*

Hybrid Model

Articles are open access after the author, their academic institution or their research sponsor pay an article processing charge, although there are other articles in the journal that are not open access.

Considerations:

  • There may be an embargo period (usually 6 - 12 months) during which electronic access to your article is restricted.
  • There may be restrictions on self-archiving a version of the article.

*Copyright as defined by The U.S. Copyright Office is “A form of protection provided by the laws of the United States for "original works of authorship", including literary, dramatic, musical, architectural, cartographic, choreographic, pantomimic, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, and audiovisual creations. "Copyright" literally means the right to copy but has come to mean that body of exclusive rights granted by law to copyright owners for protection of their work.”

For more information go to the US Copyright Office website.

Where you publish matters, consider:

Discoverability
Publish in a title that's indexed. Reputable peer-reviewed publications are included in well-known indexes such as those listed below.

Reputation of the Journal
The right choice can enhance career advancement, collaboration and grant funding opportunities.

Journal Metrics
Measure, compare, and rank research and scholarly publications.

Journal Citation Reports
Evaluates and compares journals by using citation data; including, most frequently cited journals, highest impact journals, and largest journals in a field.

Essential Science Indicators (ESI)
Analytics database on research performance, including journals, researchers, and institutions in 22 research fields.

Scopus Sources
Includes three recommended metrics on one site:

  • Citescore - Scopus' free ranking system that measures the impact of journals.
  • SNIP (Source Normalized Impact per Paper) - Enables direct comparison of journals in different subject fields.
  • SJR (SCImago Journal Rank) - A rank based on the prestige of the journal; indicators used for ranking are subject field, quality and reputation of the journal.


Best Match for Your Content
These tools offer journal suggestions based on the title, abstract or keywords that describe your publication.

Web of Science Master Journal List - Requires free registration.

Web of Science Match Manuscript - Requires free registration.

JANE (Journal/Author Name Estimator)

Some publishers have manuscript matchers that are specific to their own publications. Elsevier is an example.

!Think ✓Check >Submit
Use the !Think ✓Check >Submit tool to help you choose the right journal or publisher for your research. Journal Publication Cycle, Or, Where Did My Paper Go and Will I Ever See it Again? (YouTube)

A case report is a detailed report of the symptoms, signs, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of an individual patient. Case reports usually describe an unusual or novel occurrence. Most journals publish case reports that deal with one or more of the following:

  • Unusual observations
  • Adverse response to therapies
  • Unusual combination of conditions leading to confusion
  • Illustration of a new theory
  • Question regarding a current theory
  • Personal impact."

Guidelines To Writing A Clinical Case Report
Heart Views, vol 18, 104–105 (2017).

The links below provide access to the author instructions for journals that publish case reports. All journals listed are peer-reviewed and are discoverable in PubMed. Please note, this list is not all-inclusive.

Patient authorization must be received before you use PHI for a case report. For more information contact the Albany Med Institutional Review Board at 518-262-5181 or [email protected]


Cross Specialty
BMJ Case Reports (Albany Med faculty, staff and students may publish without paying individual fellowship fees through the Library's institutional fellowship agreement with BMJ. Contact us for more information)
Cureus


Anesthesiology
A & A Practice
Case Reports in Anesthesiology
Journal of Anesthesia
Journal of Clinical Anesthesia
Pediatric Anesthesia


Cardiology
American Journal of Cardiology
Case Reports in Cardiology
Circulation
European Heart Journal Case Reports
JACC: Case Reports


Dermatology
Case Reports in Dermatological Medicine
Dermatology Online Journal
JAAD Case Reports
JAMA Dermatology
Journal of Dermatology
Pediatric Dermatology

Emergency Medicine
American Journal of Emergency Medicine
Annals of Emergency Medicine
Case Reports in Emergency Medicine
Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine
Journal of Emergency Medicine

“Predatory journals and publishers are entities that prioritize self-interest at the expense of scholarship and are characterized by false or misleading information, deviation from best editorial and publication practices, a lack of transparency, and/or the use of aggressive and indiscriminate solicitation practices.”

Nature Summit Consensus Definition
Grudniewicz, D, et. al. Nature, vol 576, 210-212 (2019).

Questions to ask before submitting:

Does the journal have a well-defined scope?

Are there clear author guidelines?

Is the journal peer-reviewed? What are the peer-review policies?

If open access, are the author publishing charges easy to find and clearly stated?

What are the copyright policies?

What is the turn-around time from submission to acceptance to publication?

Read the journal and ask:

Do the articles fall within the aims and scope of the journal?

Do articles have relevant ethics statements, such as conflict of interest?

How robust are the methods sections?

Are there spelling or grammatical errors?

Are most of the references listed more than seven years old?

Do you recognize any of the author names as being prominent in the field?

Most importantly, is this a journal you would read?

!Think ✓Check >Submit

Use the !Think ✓Check >Submit tool to help you choose the right journal or publisher for your research.

Albany Med Research Publications

Publications and research by Albany Med faculty, staff and students can be found at the links below.

ClinicalTrials.gov

PubMed

Web of Science

NIH Reporter

Student Research Recruitment Platform

The Student Research Recruitment Platform is used to recruit medical students to participate in research projects and to close recruitment for a project. Information about research projects submitted on this form will be shared with all medical students. Interested students will reach out to the contact person named in the submission.

EndNote

EndNote is a bibliographic software management tool that allows you to locate, organize, format, manage and share your references from searches. The Library has a site license for EndNote, which permits distribution of the software to Albany Med faculty, staff and students.

EndNote Request Form

Important Notes

  • To avoid data corruption, do not store or save libraries on a thumb drive or in cloud-syncing folders such as DropBox, OneDrive, Box or SugarSync.
  • Backup the EndNote libraries on your device by syncing with EndNote Online. Register for EndNote Online using the EndNote client on your device: from the Library tab, select the Sync option, click the Sign Up button and create an account.

Visit the EndNote Training Site or contact the Library to schedule a tutorial/class at 518-262-5532 or [email protected]. EndNote Technical Support is available online or by phone at 855-258-5858.

YouTube

Schaffer Library's YouTube channel

The Schaffer Library's YouTube channel has tutorial videos on using EndNote, Sakai, Qualtrics, PubMed and Web of Science, among other informational videos. Contact us for research & publishing assistance:  518-262-5532 or [email protected].

More information and resources on research and publishing can be found below.