When you are updating a CV, it’s generally a good idea to search in more than one bibliographic database, especially if your goal is to capture all of an author’s publications, regardless of format (journal articles, book chapters, meeting abstracts, etc). Depending on the discipline, it may be likely that authors are publishing in journals that are not necessarily classified as “biomedical” and so may not qualify for indexing in a database like PubMed/MEDLINE.

To conduct a comprehensive search (ie. one that does not miss any works), it is advisable to start your search in PubMed (using multiple name variations if needed) but then to also search in two other multidisciplinary databases that the MSK Library subscribes to:

1) Scopus
2) Web of Science (WoS)

Both of these databases now offer an “Author Search” option that leads to a profile page for that author (where you can see their list of documents, as well as, links to documents that cite these publications). For example, see Dr. Craig B. Thompson’s Scopus profile. Another resource available to you is Synapse, the MSK Library’s database of MSK-authored publications. As you can see from Dr. Thompson’s Synapse profile, however, only his works produced while affiliated with MSK are included.

All four of these resources include options for exporting records to citation management tools like Endnote  (see the MSK Library’s workshop schedule for Endnote training options). Once the citation records are transferred from each of these four resources (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Synapse) into Endnote, the duplicates can be removed, leaving a unique list of titles that can be formatted and added to the CV.

Note: These four resources will identify scholarly publications by the author. If citations for books and government reports, or works published in popular magazines, newspapers, social media outlets, etc., are also needed, additional databases like GeneralOneFile should be consulted, in addition to Google, Google Scholar, WorldCat, NLM LocatorPlus, Library of Congress Catalog, and possibly other sources.

Feel free to Ask Us if you have any questions or would like to schedule a training consultation on this topic.

PTSDpubs database (formerly PILOTS – Published International Literature On Traumatic Stress) is a “freely available, online database providing access to the worldwide literature on PTSD and other mental health consequences of exposure to traumatic events.” It’s produced by the National Center for PTSD and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, however, it’s not limited to literature on PTSD among Veterans, but is a more extensive PTSD resource.

The database is a free resource that is powered by the ProQuest database platform and is updated monthly. “Its goal is to include citations to all literature on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental-health sequelae of traumatic events, without disciplinary, linguistic, or geographical limitations, and to offer both current and retrospective coverage.”

From the PTSDpubs website:

PTSDpubs has unique features that set it apart from other databases. PTSDpubs offers:

• A custom PTSD and trauma focused thesaurus to help you create a precise search. PTSDpubs’ unique thesaurus includes specific PTSD symptoms, like hypervigilance, as well as terms such as PTSD DSM-5 and PTSD (ICD-11) to help you search by diagnostic criteria.
• A detailed listing of tests and measures. Each PTSDpubs record lists all instruments used within the publication, and you can limit your search to a specific test or measure.
• A comprehensive range of publication types, including journal articles, books, reports, newsletters, and dissertations.
• Cross-disciplinary coverage of all publications relevant to PTSD. PTSDpubs does not limit its coverage to selected journals, and tries to include all relevant articles.

Subject coverage details as provided by the ProQuest database specifications:

Subject Coverage

• Post-traumatic stress disorder or acute stress disorder (with or without reference to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).
• The assessment, description, prevention, or treatment of any psychiatric disorder, especially dissociative identity disorder (formerly called multiple personality disorder), other dissociative disorders, or borderline personality disorder, associated etiologically or epidemiologically with exposure to a traumatic event, or to an event experienced as traumatic by the population under discussion.
• The preparation or provision of mental health services to a traumatized population or a population at risk of experiencing traumatic events.
• Issues of professional ethics, scientific methodology, or public policy relating to traumatized populations.

PTSDpubs can be access via the MSK Library’s Databases A-Z list. If you have any questions about this or any other database resources, please feel free to AskUs!

Since 2016, Springer Nature has been helping its authors bring more attention to their work by creating shareable links to view-only versions of their peer-reviewed research papers that can be freely-distributed to their potential readers via an initiative called SharedIt.

What is SharedIt?

“SharedIt is a content sharing initiative from Springer Nature that allows authors and subscribers to easily and legally share links to free-to-read versions of research articles anywhere, including social media platforms, repositories and personal websites. All articles published in the Springer Nature owned journal portfolio and over 1,000 co-owned or partner-owned journals are included in the initiative.”

What many authors and readers do not realize is that the mass sharing of downloaded PDFs of peer-reviewed, published journal articles is usually not allowed within standard copyright agreements. The SharedIt initiative makes the sharing legal because the article PDF can only be downloaded and printed if the article has been published as an open access paper or if the viewer has a personal or institutional subscription through which they may gain access to the full-text PDF. For everyone else, the article in its entirety can be read in a free, view-only version but cannot be downloaded/saved/printed. The information, however, can still be read and further shared via the paper’s SharedIt link, even via far-reaching social media channels.

To learn more about SharedIt – see:

• Hall D. Innovations in publication: free sharing of all Biophysical Reviews’ content. Biophys Rev. 2017 Apr;9(2):67-68. doi: 10.1007/s12551-017-0253-y. Epub 2017 Mar 20. PMID: 28510084; PMCID: PMC5418491.
• Press Release (London, 17 October 2016): We’ve SharedIt! Springer Nature completes integration of its content sharing initiative across its entire owned portfolio of over 1,300 journals.
• See Your Research Soar with SharedIt: Use this sample social media plan to promote your research using your SharedIt author link.
• SharedIt: Springer Nature’s Free Content Sharing Initiative.

…or AskUs at the MSK Library.