RefWorks is a web-based bibliographic citation management tool that the MSK Library subscribes to, in addition to Endnote. One advantage of RefWorks is that there is no software to download or have added to your MSK account.

All you need to do to use RefWorks is to register for an account using a device that is on the MSK computer IP range. Once you are registered, you can then access your RefWorks account remotely (without having to VPN) from any device that has Internet access. Continue reading →

Five years after PubMed incorporated an automatic export feature that allows for citation information to be transferred from PubMed to a “citation manager” with the click on a button, many resources have now followed suit adding this super-efficient functionality.

Here are some resources (that offer the ability to direct export citations) that may surprise you:

National Guideline Clearinghouse
When you go to the Guideline Summaryview of a NGC record, you will see “Export to Citation Manager” as one of your Download options along the top.

Journal of Clinical Oncology Meeting Abstracts
When you find citations of interest in ASCO Meeting Abstracts, you are given the option to “view abstracts” or to “download to citation manager”. If you choose the latter, you will then be offered the option of several “Citation Manager Formats” to choose from, including Endnote, Papers, RefWorks, and many more.
Continue reading →

If you are a regular reader of systematic reviews (SR), chances are that you have come across a database referred to as Cochrane CENTRAL listed among the databases often used in SR search methodology. This Cochrane resource contains the citation information and abstracts (not the full-text) of published and unpublished human studies reporting on a particular study design: randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials ONLY.

The published abstracts in CENTRAL are the controlled trials harvested from the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases using highly sensitive specialized search strategies. The rest of the content comes from Specialized Registries that are compiled and maintained by the various Cochrane Review Groups. This subgroup of unique content is derived in part by using hand-searching techniques and can include things like unpublished RCT studies reported on during scientific conference presentations. As this content may never end up appearing in the commercial databases (like EMBASE and MEDLINE), searching CENTRAL helps to combat the publication bias that may arise when searching only commercially published sources.

To access the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) database, first launch the Cochrane Library (Wiley) from the MSK Library’s A-Z list of databases. You can then perform a search by using the search box available to bring up some results from the various components of the Cochrane Library, among which you will find (listed in the menu on the left) “Trials”. The “Trials” search results are the records from CENTRAL. If you wish to limit your search to only the CENTRAL database, then click on “Search Limits” > select “Trials” > and click on “Apply” to continue your searching in only the CENTRAL database.

To learn more about CENTRAL, ask an MSK Librarian for an in-depth tutorial.