Services
Literature Searching Service
Quick link: Literature Search request form
What is the Literature Searching Service?
Who is this service available to?
How do I request a Literature Search?
How soon will I receive the results of my search?
Direct patient care search
How can I obtain any full text copies of references?
Journal articles
Books and other items
Inter Library Loans
Comments or feedback about this service
What is the Literature Searching Service?
Need to find evidence-based information to support patient care, research, guideline and care pathway development, audit or policy documentation? Want to find up-to-date material on a topic of interest?
Our professional librarians can carry out searches on your behalf to identify journal articles, guidelines, systematic reviews and other evidence-based information to help meet your requirements. This service might be useful if you are searching a complex topic, struggling to find material (or narrow down the amount you find) or if you simply want to make sure you are getting the best results.
The results of a search will be a list of bibliographic references which can posted or emailed to you, or even collected from your nearest site library (McArdle Library or John A. Aitken Library)
Who is this service available to?
Literature Searches are free and available to all staff who are currently employed by:
- Wirral University Teaching Hospital (WUTH)
- NHS Wirral
- Wirral Community Trust
- Clatterbridge Cancer Centre (CCC)*
*subject to terms of Service Level Agreement (SLA), for more details contact us directly.
If you are a student on a course of study, this service is not available to you as many of our associate colleges and universities require you to develop your own databases searching skills, as part of the agreement of the academic programme you are on. However, we would encourage you to contact us directly if you wish to participate in one of our training sessions.
How do I request a Literature Search?
To request a Literature Search please complete the Literature Search request form.
Please submit as much information as possible about your search topic so there is no delay in processing your request.
If you encounter any difficulties in completing this form please do not hesitate to contact us.
How soon will I receive the results of my search?
You will receive the result of your search within 10 working days (Monday to Friday) from the date of receipt, or by a mutually agreed date.
Direct patient care search
Those requests directly for patient care will be actioned as a matter of service priority.
Please note: all of the above service standards are subject to staffing levels.
How can I obtain any full text copies of references?
There are various ways to obtain full text copies of references from the results of your search. We have outlined some below. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require further assistance.
Journal articles
For details of how to obtain a full text journal article, please link here.
For details of how to access free NHS e-journal and e-resources via the NHS Evidence please link here.
Books and other items
Please link here to access our Library Catalogue. If an item you require is not available as part of our collection, we may be able to loan a copy on your behalf via our Inter Library Loans service.
Inter Library Loans
For details of the Inter Library Loan Service offered by the ILS please link here.
Comments or feedback about this service
The Integrated Library Service aims to continually improve and develop the process of Literature Searching. We will contact you a few months after you have received the results of your search, to ask you if the information we provided has been of use to you and to enquire if you have used it to inform your clinical work, provide or cascade information to your colleagues, change practice, etc.
If you have any comments about this particular service in the meantime, please use our Library Suggestion Form.