FY 19 Annual Report

The Health Sciences Library System

Research Support

The Research, Instruction, and Clinical Information Services (RICIS) team supports the research process from identifying a topic, reviewing the literature, developing search methodology, managing data and communicating research. HSLS librarians are increasingly called upon for their expertise in enhancing the quality and reproducibility of many types of advanced reviews, including systematic reviews, narrative reviews, and clinical guidelines.

Research Support Services Provided:

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Individual Research Consultations
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Advanced Literature Searching
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Systematic Review Search Expertise & Methodology Documentation
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Instructional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and Literature Searching
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Data Services and Scholarly Communications Guidance

Research Output FY 19:

Liaison Librarians

Liaison librarians provide their expertise by enhancing the quality and reproducibility of many types of advanced reviews, including systematic reviews, narrative reviews, and clinical guidelines. They conduct systematic, comprehensive searches using advanced search techniques and database tools. They also follow Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocols for reporting. These searches may require 3 to 8 months for completion. As members of the project team, liaison librarians are co-authors on publications and write the methodology section for manuscript submission.

Data Services

HSLS Data Services continued to grow and expand services in FY 19. Librarians on the Data Services team manage the Pitt Data Catalog and provides services to:

  • Organize and describe research data
  • Aid in compliance with data sharing policies
  • Create effective data visualizations
  • Use electronic research notebooks

Molecular Biology Information Service

The Molecular Biology Information Service (MolBio) experienced a busy and productive year, with a notable expansion of support service focused on Next Generation Sequence (NGS) analysis. The MolBio team supports research through:

  • Licensed software used in precision medicine and basic sciences research
  • Wednesday Workshops offered by MolBio librarians and additional guest presenter lectures
  • Consultations specific to bioinformatics queries