“Keeping up with the literature” is a constant, often challenging activity for those of us committed to evidence-based practice—that notion that current valid evidence must support clinical decisions. This poster abstract, presented at the AABB 2009 conference, offers one solution.

For the past two years, I’ve been conducting workshops exploring how web-based tools can support research and teaching activities in transfusion science. In each session, I asked participants to contribute custom PubMed search queries, which were negotiated and refined until they captured the interests of the whole group. These queries were converted into RSS feeds, compiled into a reading list and published online. You can view all these feeds in the Transfusion Reading List, which is periodically updated with new feeds. This way, anyone outside the workshop is able to download and modify the feeds to meet their own learning needs, and resubmit them to the List if they wish.

This poster explains the learning theory behind why this works so well if you want to stay up to date. No one person can generate all the analysis, debate, context and interpretation needed to create useful evidence. The interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of transfusion medicine makes the task of finding relevant knowledge especially daunting. Engagement is the critical point where community and individual information needs intersect. A collaborative transfusion reading list offers a simple structure and process that supports members’ engagement with information and each other.

Download: Using Web-Based Tools to Stay Current With the Literature poster (pdf)
Size: 21.94 MB
119 downloads so far!

Using Web-Based Tools to Stay Current originally appeared on Portable Learner on November 14th, 2009

Databases like PubMed and Turning Research Into Practice (TRIP), and even the occasional transfusion-related website are beginning to offer RSS feeds. RSS feeds present online information in ways that help you monitor new publications and upcoming events. This demo of exceptional feeds shows you how you can make best use of these tools. It will be of special interest to individuals who want to monitor the literature, educators who want to create reading lists for their students and organizations who would like to syndicate their resources. The demo will get better over time as more websites make feeds available to their visitors.

What’s here?

• The demo
• Downloads
• FAQs
• Contributors

Transfusion Reading List Demo

Need help? See How to use this demo.

[sniplet post-tmreadinglist]

Downloads

Here are two resources to help you design your own reading list. The first is an XML file of the current list, which you can then modify to suite your own needs. The second is a poster abstract I presented at the CSTM 2009 conference that describes how one goes about designing a reading list.

Download: Transfusion Reading List XML
Updated: October 21st, 2009
Instructions: 1) Click and save file to your hard drive; 2) Import into your own feed reader; 3) Modify, add and delete feeds; 4) Share your feeds with your transfusion community.

Download: Create a Transfusion Reading List With Web Feeds poster abstract
Size: 13.09 MB

Frequently Asked Questions

If your answer is not here, post a comment or contact me at shanta.rohse@gmail.com

1. How do I use the demo? Try the Demo Help.
2. Will RSS feeds let me get articles for free? Only if they are free to begin with.
3. I already use email alerts. Why would I use RSS feeds?. If they serve you well, email alerts are useful (Dr. Jennifer Fesser recommends PubCrawler). If you find they are buried under a deluge of other emails or you want to be able to refine, filter or otherwise filter information, consider trying feeds. They are also more easily exchanged with your colleagues.
4. Are there disadvantages to using RSS feeds? Not all web sites offer them (fortunately, this is changing), you need to use a feed reader to view the feeds (much like you need an email client to view your emails), and you need to remember to look at your feed reader.
5. How do I subscribe to feed? To follow an RSS feed, you need a feed reader. I prefer Google Reader, a web-based feed reader, but there are many other good choices.
6. How do I find RSS feeds? Look for the image icons or or on your favourite transfusion-related web pages. Look for RSS options within article databases like PubMed or TRIP. Or use a directory like Google’s Blogsearch or this demo.
7. May I copy your feeds into my feed reader/organizational web site/learning management system? Yes.
8. My organization wants to syndicate our resources using RSS feeds. What should we do? Excellent decision! Contact your web designer. Good web designers have many tools at their disposal for adding RSS feeds to your site.
9. How do I know when you’ve added a new feed to your demo? Subscribe to the feed for this post: RSS feed for this post. Well, of course you expected me to provide a feed. See how this works?

Contributors

The Transfusion Reading List began during a workshop called Cool Tools: Web-based learning for Transfusion Specialists, originally held for the Ontario Regional Blood Coordinating Network (ORBCoN). The workshop has been held a number of times, and individuals have contributed their finely crafted search queries, including these participants who wanted to share their expertise and make this reading list an outstanding resource for the transfusion information maven: Dr. Jennifer Fesser, Dr. Heather Hume, The CBS TRALI Working Group, Pat Letendre, Dr. Jeanne Callum, Ray Berger, Dr. Ben Saxon, Wendy Owens, Diana Boye.

Transfusion Reading List originally appeared on Portable Learner on September 9th, 2007