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Effectively Searching CCOHS Databases. Laurie Tirone & Jan Chappel Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS). Formulating Your Search. What is your search question or topic? Which database or data source should you use? What are the features of the search engine?.
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Effectively Searching CCOHS Databases Laurie Tirone & Jan Chappel Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)
Formulating Your Search • What is your search question or topic? • Which database or data source should you use? • What are the features of the search engine?
What is your search question or topic? • Determine exactly what you are looking for. • Create a search query that uses terms that are specific or unique to your subject. • will narrow or limit your search more quickly. • Avoid using common terms, such as “safety” or “health”.
Which database or source should you use? • What kind of information do you need? • general chemical information, or detailed toxicity reports? • a specific piece of legislation or related guideline? • published research from the health and safety literature? • Learn what type of information each data source contains
What features does the search engine use? • Natural Language Structure • Boolean Operators –“and”, “or”, “not” • Word Stemming • Truncation • Relevancy Ranking • Multiple fields/indexes for searching
Search features used in OSH Answers • Natural language structure • automatically “ORs” terms • Word stemming • Relevancy ranking • More • to find other documents similar to the one retrieved, check the More box and then click on “Find Similar Documents”
Search features used in chemical and bibliographic databases • Quick and Advanced searches • Boolean operators • automatically “ANDs” terms unless otherwise specified • Truncation • available in Advanced search • Multiple indexes/fields • more are available in Advanced search
Search features used in Canadian enviroOSH Legislation • Natural language structure • automatically “ORs” terms • Word stemming • Relevancy ranking • More • to find other documents similar to the one retrieved, check the More box and then click on “Find Similar Documents”. This is only available when searching the entire collection, not a specific jurisdiction. • CD-ROM version uses Folio Views 4.2 • Uses many very powerful search features.
Remember… • Become familiar with the search engine for each data source that you use by reading the help section – this will save you time in long run!
Sample Topics • Health Hazard and regulatory information about chemicals • Ergonomics • OHS Program/Policy • CHEMINDEX Page 10
Health hazard information about chemicals What are the health hazards associated with toluene? Check these sources: • OSH Answers • CHEMINFO • Legislation
Regulatory Information about Chemicals • My company has plants located in both Ontario and Alberta. • What are the regulated exposure limits in these provinces?
Ergonomics • I’m looking for information on ergonomics. • Check these sources: • OSH Answers • OSH References • CSA Standard • CCOHS Pocket Guide
Office Ergonomics Guide • Available in: • Print format • PDF format • on CD-ROM Page 38
OSH Program / Policy My company needs an official health and safety policy statement. • How do I go about writing one? • What type of information should go into one? • What can the H&S Committee do to help?
OSH Program / Policy Check these sources: • Legislation • OSH Answers • CCOHS “Health and Safety Committee” Pocket Guide
OSH Program / Policy • From the “Guide to the Occupational Health and Safety Act” (Ontario): • Employer’s Duty to... • prepare a written occupational health and safety policy, review that policy at least once a year and set up a program to implement it (section 25(2)(j)). ** For guidance on how to do this, see Appendix A - (from Guide to the Occupational Health and Safety Act )
OSH Program / Policy Guidelines from British Columbia: • list of reference material • 14 Elements of a Successful Safety and Health Program. Chicago, IL: National Safety Council, 1994. • Developing your Health and Safety Policy and Program: A Guide for Employers. Toronto, ON: Industrial Accident Prevention Association, 1989. • Parmeggiani, L. Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety, 4th ed. Geneva: International Labour Organization, 1997. • Rest, K.M. & N.A. Ashford. Occupational Health and Safety in British Columbia: An Administrative Inventory of the Prevention 1997. Available from: Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia, Films & Posters.
Health & Safety Committees Reference Guide • Available in: • Print format • PDF format • on CD-ROM Page 47
CHEMINDEX • Free on Web • Provides identification information for over 200,000 chemicals: • chemical names and synonyms, • the CAS registry number, and • a list of the CCINFO databases containing information on that substance.