Finding and using knowledge

To help you decide which source or sources to use it helps to consider the purpose and the type of question you are asking. Once you are happy with your question, consult the table on the left for some suggestions on the kinds of sources that might be most useful.

The Knowledge Network offers access to subscription resources such as eBooks, eJournals, research articles, specialist databases, clinical decision-making tools/evidence summaries.

To access these resources NHSScotland staff can use their NHSScotland work email address and password to sign-in to OpenAthens. All other eligible users can register for an NHSScotland OpenAthens username.

Visit The Knowledge Network Help and Training for self-directed and trainer led training opportunities.

Knowing what to do at the right time and place is a huge challenge especially given the fact that practitioners are so short on time.

Evidence summaries provide trustworthy, validated evidence from multiple sources, with links to the original research, to support decision making. They are considered very high quality sources of information.

You may also hear them called 'point of care resources' as they are designed to support decision making at or close to an interaction point with a patient or service user. In this way they help ensure care is based on the best evidence available.

They also provide a useful overview of a topic with links to guidelines and research so can be used to create local guidance and protocols.

See The Knowledge Network evidence summaries for a list of these resources available to health and social care staff in Scotland, as well as key features and guidance for each.

Research of published material is generally carried out on bibliographic databases. These are large indexes of articles, generally from a number of journals that you can search in one place.

Categories of sources for research

Primary Source
A primary source is material which is created during the time period under study, or is created at a later date by someone who took part in the event being studied. It is a first-hand or eye-witness account of an event. Examples of primary sources include scientific reports written by the scientist involved, reports of studies by the individual or group who undertook the study, personal diaries and letters, memoirs or autobiographies.

Secondary Source 
A secondary source is interpretative or analytical and created at a date later than the event under study, by someone who was not directly involved in the original event. Examples include evidence summaries, systematic reviews, textbooks and commentaries. 

Grey Literature 
Grey literature is the term used to describe papers, reports, technical notes and other documents produced and “published” by government agencies, academic institutions and other groups and which are not distributed or indexed by commercial publishers. This means that the documents can be difficult to identify and obtain. 

The type of resource used will depend on the search query. This is not a comprehensive list, but categories can include:

• Conference Proceedings; 
• Guidelines/Knowledge Summaries; 
• Repositories; 
• Specialist Search Engines; 
• Statistics and Census Data;
• Research and Policy.

A general caveat with grey literature is that it may not have been subjected to rigorous evaluation and/or validation. This is something you will have to decide upon as you recover information, ensuring that any grey literature utilised is assessed for quality. Google is often a useful starting place for this type of information - for help to use Google Scholar more effectively see The Knowledge Network Help pages.

Statistical information and data 

This is dictated by your setting and question. World Health Organisation, Governments, societies and other organisations provide useful sources of data. This can be complemented by data from local audits etc. For suggestions on where to look for the data you need, see our Guide to finding statistical data.

Bibliographic databases 
Bibliographic databases are online collections of published literature including journal articles, conference proceedings, medicines information, books and standards.

There is a wide range of databases aimed at all staff groups, available through The Knowledge Network. To access these resources NHSScotland staff can use their NHSScotland work email address and password to sign-in to OpenAthens. All other eligible users can register for an NHSScotland OpenAthens username.

Types of research

You may frequently come across the following two terms in much of the research you are reading. The information or evidence you identify may be:

Quantitative 
Explains phenomena by collecting numerical data that are analyzed using mathematically based methods (in particular statistics). (Aliaga and Gunderson, 2005). For example, evidence on the type, timing and frequency of exercise required by patients with a particular health problem to help them to retain or regain mobility.

Qualitative
Focuses on the experiences, interpretations, impressions or motivations of an individual or individuals. It seeks to describe how people view a phenomenon and why (Parahoo, 2006). For example, evidence that identifies why people do or don’t follow recommended exercise programmes.

The experience of others provides a valuable and rich source of evidence and a useful resource to support people to implement knowledge in practice. To identify people with relevant knowledge and experience you can use social directories, local teams, networks, communities of practice, subject specialists and importantly patients and service users.  

Once you have identified an 'expert' there are many tools you can use to capture knowledge. ee the below sections of this site for more help:

• Communities of practice
• Tools for knowledge exchange