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Searching for Data in Statistical Information Resources. Konstantina (Dina) Matsoukas, MLIS Head of Reference & Education Coordinator CUMC - Health Sciences Library hs-library@columbia.edu May 17, 2011. Acknowledgements.
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Searching for Data in Statistical Information Resources Konstantina (Dina) Matsoukas, MLIS Head of Reference & Education CoordinatorCUMC - Health Sciences Libraryhs-library@columbia.edu May 17, 2011
Acknowledgements • This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. NO1-LM-6-3501 with New York University. • This series of training classes was developed by Konstantina (Dina) Matsoukas, Head of Reference and Education Coordinator of the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University.
IFH Training Class Series 2011 Orientation to Health Sciences Information Resources (Feb 23@12pm) Comprehensive Searching of the Medical Literature (Mar 3@12pm) Smart Googling for Healthcare Professionals (Mar 10@12pm) Community Health and Demographic Data Sources (Mar 21@12pm) Keeping Up with the Medical Literature (Mar 29@12pm) Overview of Public Health Information Resources (Apr 6@12pm) Finding Evidence Based Information Resources (Apr 13@12pm) Expert PubMed/Medline Searching Skills (Apr 29 @12pm) Finding Patient Education Information Resources (May 11 @12pm) Searching for Data in Statistical Information Resources (May 17 @12pm)
Topics covered in this session: • Defining your data info need • Thinking about who would be interested in collecting this data…(ie. identifying potential sources) • Exploring noteworthy (compendia/aggregator/portal/gateway) sources of statistical information • Using search tools (like PubMed, Google) to locate health data in the literature and on the Web
Defining your data need • Statistical information can come in many formats, including: • Summaries and secondary material • Full reports with tables • Digital versions of data (often available for download) • Full data sets • Statistical info comes from a variety of sources, including: • Administrative data (counts of individual health related events or services) • Surveys (sampling techniques) • Public health surveillance From: http://phpartners.org/pdf/StatsChapterPDF.pdf
Defining your data need • Statistical info is gathered in a variety of ways, including: • By different geographical location • Local • State • National • International • At different frequency/chronology • Every ten years (census) • Every two years • Annually • Etc.
Who might have collected the data? • “Health statistics are influenced by an organization’s perspective and bias. These biases can affect the collection device and eventual outcomes that are reported. They also can determine what data are collected and how the data are collected. Whenever possible, read the notes describing the reasons for and methods of data collection. Reminder that statistics are collected to meet the needs of the collector.” From: http://phpartners.org/pdf/StatsChapterPDF.pdf
Statistical compendia & portal sites • U.S. Census (statistical compendia) • Statistical Abstract of the United States • State and Metropolitan Area Data Book • County and City Data Book • National Center for Health Statistics (CDC) • FedStats • State Health Facts Online (Kaiser Family Foundation) • HHS Gateway to Data and Statistics • Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce
National Center for Health Statistics - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/
Let’s try it out… sample scenario • You are a family physician who cares for patients in a community with a very high teenage pregnancy rate. You are interested in gathering some statistical data to give you a better sense of contraception use – IUD use in particular - among teenagers.
Don’t forget PubMed! • PubMed indexes published articles that report on statistics and numerical data collected.
Let’s try it out… sample scenario • You have a pregnant patient who is well aware that more and more women in the US are having cesarean sections. She would like to steer clear of NYC area hospitals that may over-prescribe this procedure. How can you find out what the rate for cesareans is at Columbia – New York Presbyterian Hospital?