Ovid Database Guide

Allied & Complementary Medicine Database Guide

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Database guide last
updated January 30, 2012

The Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED) is a unique bibliographic database produced by the Health Care Information Service of the British Library. It covers a selection of journals in complementary medicine, palliative care, and several professions allied to medicine.

Segments and Years of Coverage
Name		Years of Coverage
AMED		1985 to present

The limit of databases that you can select for a multifile search session is based upon database segments rather than actual databases. The Ovid multifile segment limit is set at 120 to avoid impacting your search sessions. This database includes 1 segment.

This database is updated online monthly.

Fields
The following list is sorted alphabetically by field alias. Click a field name to see the description and search information.
All Fields in this Database
	Abstract (AB)	Heading Words (HW)	Pagination (PG)
	Accession Number (AN)	ISBN (IB)	Publication Type (PT)
	All Searchable Fields (AF)	ISSN (IS)	Source (SO)
	Author (AU)	Issue/Part (IP)	Subject Headings (SH)
	Book Description (BD)	Journal Abbreviation (JA)	Title (TI)
	Date of Publication (DP)	Journal Name (JN)	Update Code (UP)
	Entry Terms (ET)	Journal Word (JX)	Volume (VO)
	English Summary (ES)	Language (LG)	Year of Publication (YR)
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Default Fields for Unqualified Searches (MP): Searching for a term without specifying a field in Advanced search, or specifying .mp., defaults to the following ‘multi-purpose’ (.mp.) fields for this database: ab,hw,ti.
	Abstract (AB)	Heading Words (HW)	Title (TI)
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Default Fields for Display, Print, Email, and Save: The following fields are included by default for each record.
	Abstract (AB)	Entry Terms (ET)	Title (TI)
	Accession Number (AN)	Source (SO)
	Author (AU)	Subject Headings (SH)
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All Fields for Display, Print, Email, and Save: Use the Select Fields button in the Results Manager at the bottom of the Main Search Page to choose the fields for a record.
	Abstract (AB)	ISSN (IS)	Source (SO)
	Accession Number (AN)	Language (LG)	Subject Headings (SH)
	Author (AU)	Local Messages (LM)	Title (TI)
	Entry Terms (ET)	Publication Type (PT)	Update Code (UP)
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Elements of Source (SO) Field: Ovid searches the following fields as part of the record source.
	Book Description (BD)	Journal Abbreviation (JA)	Volume (VO)
	Date of Publication (DP)	Journal Name (JN)	Year of Publication (YR)
	Issue/Part (IP)	Pagination (PG)
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The following list is sorted alphabetically by the two-letter label, and includes the relevant alias, at least one example for all searchable fields, and a description of the field.

Label	Name / Example
AB	Abstract [Word Indexed] heart attack.ab.
	The Abstract (AB) field includes the English language abstract for certain articles. The Abstract index contains all searchable words from the abstract; however, stopwords, such as "the" and "of" are not searchable. English Summary will display following an English summary abstract.
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AF	All Searchable Fields [Search Alias] heart.af.
	All Fields (AF) is an alias for all of the fields which occur in the source documents, including value-added fields such as Abstract (AB).
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AN	Accession Number 8500011.an.
	The Accession Number (AN) field contains a seven digit number that uniquely identifies each record in the Allied and Complementary Medicine Database.
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AU	Author [Phrase Indexed] brewster c.au.
	The Author (AU) field contains the names of the authors of the article. Enter the last name of the author, or if it is a common name, enter the last name and the first initial. If you are unsure of the spelling of the last name (mcdonald or macdonald) enter one version of the name and then scroll through the list of names to find the other.
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BD	Book Description [Word Indexed] cullompton devon.bd.
	The Book Description (BD) field contains the place of publication, year, the number of pages and sometimes the price. This field is displayed in the Source (SO) field.
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DP	Date of Publication [Display Only]
	The Date of Publication (DP) field contains the time period the journal came out. This can be the actual month, the month and day, or the season, etc. This field is displayed in the Source (SO) field.
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ES	English Summary [Display Only]
	The English Summary (ES) field is put in when the journal from which the article came from contained an English summary. This does not mean that there is an abstract associated with the article in the actual database.
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ET	Entry Terms abdominal injuries.et. gallbladder.et.
	The Entry Terms (ET) field contains all entry terms that are not part of the controlled indexing terms that describe the article.
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HW	Heading Words heart.hw.
	The Heading Words (HW) field contains a word indexed list of all the subject headings.
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IB	ISBN 0962343803.ib.
	The ISBN (IB) field contains the ISBN number of the monograph referenced.
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IP	Issue/Part "6".ip.
	The Issue/Part (IP) field contains the issue or part number of the journal. This field is displayed in the Source (SO) field.
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IS	ISSN [Phrase Indexed] "0300-9742".is.
	The ISSN (IS) field contains the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) for the journal in which an article was published. It appears as an 8-digit number, separated by a hyphen: 0028-4793.
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JA	Journal Abbreviation [Phrase Indexed] cancer res.ja.
	The Journal Abbreviation (JA) field contains the abbreviated name of the journal in which the article was published. Journal names are indexed as phrases, so enter enough letters of the journal name to locate the name in the index: new engl (for New England Journal of Medicine). This field displays as part of the Source (SO) field when the full journal title is not available.
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JN	Journal Name natl j homoeopath.jn.
	The Journal Name (JN) field contains the full name of the journal in which an article was published. This field displays as part of the Source (SO) field. Journal names are indexed as phrases, so enter enough letters of the journal name to locate the name in the index: new engl (for New England Journal of Medicine). Stopwords such as "of" ARE included in the JN index, but when "the" is the first word of a journal, it has been stripped.
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JX	Journal Word homoeopath.jx.
	The Journal Word (JX) field contains individual words from every journal name in AMED. Stopwords such as "the" or "of" are not included. This field is used to retrieve every occurrence of a journal which includes a particular word, such as "obstetrics".
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LG	Language English.lg. eng.lg.
	The Language (LG) field contains the language or languages of the document. It is possible to have more than one language assigned to a document. It is searchable by language abbreviation or by full name of the language.
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LH	Locally Held [Display Only]
	The Locally Held (LH) field indicates (with a "Y" or an "N") if a journal is held locally.
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LM	Local Messages [Display Only]
	The Local Messages (LM) field contains messages created by the System Administrator to indicate information about journals held in your local library system.
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PG	Pagination "341".pg.
	The Pagination (PG) field consists of the first page of the item. This field is displayed in the Source (SO) field.
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PT	Publication Type [Phrase Indexed] editorial.pt.
	The Publication Type (PT) field contains the type of article the record is, such as a commentary, lecture, letter, editorial, etc.
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SH	Subject Headings [Phrase Indexed] learning disability.sh.
	The Subject Heading (SH) field contains all keywords, entry terms and minor terms that describe the article.
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SO	Source [Display Only]
	The Source field contains the citation information for the article. It is made up of theJournal Abbreviation (JA), Journal Name (JN), the Volume (VO), Issue/Part (IP), the Pagination (PG), Year of Publication (YR), and the Date of Publication (DP), or in the case of Monograph records, the Book Description (BD).
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TI	Title [word indexed] quality of life.ti.
	The Title (TI) field contains the title of the article, book or conference paper.
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UP	Update Code 199900.up.
	Update Code (UP) field contains the date (YYYYMM) of the last transfer of the record from the database to OVID, where YYYY is the 4-digit year and MM is the month of the update.
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VO	Volume "23".vo.
	The Volume (VO) field contains the volume of the publication that contains the article. This field is displayed in the Source (SO) field.
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YR	Year of Publication "1995".yr.
	The Year of Publication (YR) field contains the year the article was printed. This field is displayed in the Source (SO) field.
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Advanced Searching
You can use special search syntax listed below to combine search terms or strategically develop a search. Full documentation is provided in the Advanced Searching Techniques section of the Online Help.
Operator	Syntax	Search Example	Sample Results
OR	x or y	vitamin c or ascorbic acid	"dietary citrus bioflavonoid and/or ascorbic acid supplementation"
	The OR operator retrieves records that contain any or all of the search terms. For example, the search heart attack or myocardial infarction retrieves results that contain the terms heart attack, myocardial infarction or both terms; results are all inclusive. You can use the OR operator in both unqualified searches and searches applied to a specific field.
AND	x and y	cluster and migraine	"Divalproex sodium in the treatment of migraine and cluster headaches"
	The AND operator retrieves only those records that include all of the search terms. For example, the search blood pressure and stroke retrieves results that contain the term blood pressure and the term stroke together in the same record; results are exclusive of records that do not contain both of these terms. You can use the AND operator in both unqualified searches and searches applied to a specific field.
NOT	x not y	headache not migraine	"The acupuncture randomised trial (ART) for tension-type headache"
	The NOT operator retrieves records that contain the first search term and excludes the second search term. For example, the search health reform not health maintenance organizations retrieves only those records that contain the term health reform but excludes the term health maintenance organizations. In this way, you can use the NOT operator to restrict results to a specific topic. You can use the NOT operator in both unqualified searches and searches applied to a specific field.
Adjacency (ADJ)	x y	bone spur	"Effects of acetic acid iontophoresis on heel spur reabsorption"
	The Adjacent operator (ADJ) retrieves records with search terms next to each other in that specific order. You do not need to separate search terms manually by inserting ADJ between them, because when you separate terms with a space on the command line, Ovid automatically searches for the terms adjacent to one another. For example, the search blood pressure is identical to the search blood adj pressure.
Defined Adjacency (ADJn)	x ADJn y	melatonin adj3 migraine	"The therapeutic potential of melatonin in migraines and other headache types"
	The defined adjacency operator (ADJn) retrieves records that contain search terms within a specified number (n-1) of words from each other in any order (stop-words included). To use the adjacency operator, separate your search terms with ADJ and a number from 1 to 99 as explained below: ADJ1 Next to each other, in any order ADJ2 Next to each other, in any order, up to 1 word in between ADJ3 Next to each other, in any order, up to 2 words in between ADJ99 Next to each other, in any order, up to 98 words in between For example, the search physician adj5 relationship retrieves records that contain the words physician and relationship with a maximum of four words in between in either direction. This particular search retrieves records containing such phrases as physician patient relationship, patient physician relationship, or relationship between cancer patient and physician. Please note Ovid’s order of operation handles terms within parentheses first. Therefore it is recommended to apply the ADJn operator in one-on-one operations to avoid missing out on results. E.g. stroke adj4 (blood pressure or high blood pressure) could potentially miss out on some combinations of stroke with high blood pressure. The optimum way to execute this on Ovid is: (stroke adj4 blood pressure) OR (stroke adj4 high blood pressure).
Frequency (FREQ)	x.ab./FREQ=n	blood.ab. /freq=5	"Effects of Swedish massage on blood pressure"
	The frequency operator (FREQ) lets you specify a threshold of occurrence of a term in the records retrieved from your search. Records containing your search term are retrieved only if the term occurs at least the specified (n) number of times. In general, records that contain many instances of your search term are more relevant than records that contain fewer instances. The frequency operator is particularly useful when searching a text field, such as Abstract or Full Text, for a common word or phrase.
Unlimited Truncation ($)	x$	rat$	"Comparative evaluation of hepatoprotective activity of carotenoids of microalgae"
	Unlimited truncation retrieves all possible suffix variations of the root word indicated. To apply unlimited truncation to a term, type the root word or phrase followed by either of the truncation characters: $ (dollar sign) or * (asterisk). For example, in the truncated search rat, Ovid retrieves the word rat* as well as the words rats, and more.
Limited Truncation ($)	x$n	dog$1	"Learning from Dogis and Mystical Dogs"
	Limited truncation specifies a maximum number of characters that may follow the root word or phrase. For example, the truncated search dog$1 retrieves results with the words dog and dogs; but it does not retrieve results with the word dogma.
Mandated Wildcard (#)	xx#y	wom#n	"Managing a young woman with cystic fibrosis"
	Searching with a mandated wildcard retrieves all possible variations of a word in which the wildcard is present in the specified place. You can use it at the end of a term to limit results to only those that contain the word plus the mandated character. For example, the search dog# retrieves results that contain the word dogs, but not those that contain the word dog, effectively limiting results to only those that contain the plural form of the word. The mandated wild card character (#) is also useful for retrieving specialized plural forms of a word. For example, the search wom#n retrieves results that contain both woman and women. You can use multiple wild cards in a single query word.
Optional Wildcard (?)	xx?y	colo?r	"Non-random associations of graphemes to colours in synaesthetic and non-synaesthetic populations"
	The optional wild card character (?) can be used within or at the end of a search term to substitute for one or no characters. This wild card is useful for retrieving documents with British and American word variants since it specifies that you want retrieval whether or not the extra character is present. For example, the optional wild card search colo?r retrieves results that contain the words color or colour. You can use multiple wild cards in a single query word.
Literal String ("")	"x / y"	"Heat / Cold Application"	"Patient education, psychological support, weight control, exercise, heat/cold application, and use of assistive devices are safe nonpharmacologic approaches."
Literal String ("")	"n"	"3".vo	"Phytotherapie 2005 Apr;3(2):72-6."
	Quotation marks can be used to retrieve records that contain literal strings, when the string includes special characters, such as a forward slash (/). Quotation marks can also be used to retrieve records that contain numbers that may otherwise be confused for earlier searches. In the example, a search for 3.vo would limit the string from your third search in your search history to the volume field. By including the number in quotation marks, the search will retrieve documents with a 3 in the volume number.
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Stopwords

The Ovid search engine applies so called "run-time stopword processing". This means the search engine on the fly ignores the stopwords: and, as, by, for, from, in, is, of, on, that, the, this, to, was, were & with.

Therefore a search: at risk for diabetes.ti will also find: at risk of diabetes. The distance of one word in between is kept, but the stopword "for" is ignored.

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Limits
The following limits are available for this database. See Database Limits in the Ovid Online Help for details on applying limits.
Limit	Syntax
Abstracts	Sentence Syntax:	limit 1 to abstracts
Abstracts	Command Syntax:	..l/ ab=y
	A limit to Abstracts will restrict retrieval to records that contain abstracts.
Alternative Medicine	Sentence Syntax:	limit 1 to hypnosis
	A limit to Alternative Medicine will restrict retrieval to major types of alternative medicine. If you choose this option, you will be presented with a list of alternative medicine types from which to choose. The list includes acupuncture, hypnosis, homeopathy and others.
English Summary	Sentence Syntax:	limit 1 to english summary
	A limit to English Summary will restrict retrieval to articles that have English summaries in the original journal. This does not mean that there is an abstract available in this database.
Full Text	Sentence Syntax:	limit 1 to full text
	A limit to Full Text will restrict retrieval to those citations for which there is a full text link. Both Ovid full text and external full text are included in this limit.
General Medical Concepts	Sentence Syntax:	limit 1 to case reports
	A limit to General Medical Concepts will restrict retrieval to major types of general medical concepts. If you choose this option, you will be presented with a list of general medical concepts from which to choose. The list includes adverse effects, case reports, methods, diagnosis and others.
Languages	Sentence Syntax:	limit 1 to french
	A limit to Languages will restrict retrieval to any of the languages AMED indexes. If you choose this option, you will be presented with an alphabetical list of languages from which to choose.
Latest Update	Sentence Syntax:	limit 1 to latest update
	New documents are added to the AMED database on a monthly basis. A limit to latest update will restrict retrieval to documents which were most recently added to the database.
Ovid Full Text Available	Sentence Syntax:	limit 1 to ovid full text available
	A limit to Ovid Full Text Available will restrict retrieval to those citations for which there is a full text link. Both Ovid full text and external full text are included in this limit.
Publication Types	Sentence Syntax:	limit 1 to congress
	A limit to Publication Types will restrict retrieval to any of the publication types available from AMED. These include commentary, conference, editorial, letter, news, review and technical note.
Publication Year	Sentence Syntax:	limit 1 to 2003
	You can restrict retrieval to any of the years which this database covers. If you choose this option you will be prompted to enter the desired year; the format is 4 digits: "1989" or a range: "1994-1995".
Therapies	Sentence Syntax:	limit 1 to drug therapy
	limit to Therapies will restrict retrieval to major types of therapies. If you choose this option, you will be presented with a list of therapies from which to choose. The list includes drug therapy, occupational therapy, rehabilitation and others.
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Tools

The following Search Tools are available for this database. For specific information on using these tools, refer to the Ovid Online Help linked below.

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Changing to this Database
To change a search session to a segment of this database from another database or another segment, use the following syntax in the Ovid Syntax tab:
	Command Syntax:	..c/amed
	Sentence Syntax:	use amed
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Sample Documents

Sample 1

Accession Number
    0064739
Author
    Yubin L
Title
    How to learn Chinese herbs (part five)
Source
    Journal of Chinese Medicine 2004 Jun;75:24-6.
Abstract
    This latest part of Lu Yubins popular series on learning Chineseherbs 
    discusses the meanings of herb names, and their shape, colour and 
    characteristics , in such a way that students can get an entirely new 
    perspective on the herbs and find it much easier to remember their 
    properties. This article covers herbs that induce diuresis to remove 
    dampness.
Subject Headings
    Drugs chinese herbal. Drug therapy. Education.
Language
    English
ISSN
    0143-8042
Publication Type
    Journal Article
Update Code
    200408

Sample 2

Accession Number
    9148735 
Author
    Wilbur P 
Title
    The phyto-oestrogen debate - part 2. 
Source
    European Journal of Herbal Medicine 1996 Autumn;2(3):19-26. 
Abstract
    There exists disagreement as to the role phyto-oestrogens have to play in 
    therapeutic herbalism, mainly concerning the actions and properties of 
    phyto-oestrogens within the human body. Rarely does scientific research 
    throw light of the effects of phyto-oestrogenic herbs on the body, and the 
    traditional literature about these herbs may offer a much better guide to 
    usage than the list of phytosterols they contain. 
Subject Headings
    Estrogens. Plants medicinal. Materia medica. Research.
Language
    English 
Publication Type
    Journal Article
Update Code
    198700

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Producer Information

Producer

The British Library
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London
NW1 2DB
Switchboard: +44 (0)330 333 1144
Box Office: +44 (0)1937 546546
Customer Services: +44 (0)1937 546060
Contact: Joanne Cox
Email: [email protected]

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