Support : eNewsletters : Training Updates : Issue 5, September 2010

From the Editor

In our January issue of Training Updates, we set specific goals for our 2010 training program. Did we meet them? Read further to learn about the final stage of training development—"A comprehensive curriculum to expand learning." This issue also highlights the importance of content in "Content—the basis of all searching." Check the search tip on how to develop expertise in searching biomedical files on Dialog. Register for training sessions in a subject of your choice and review featured courses.

Do you know about ProQuest Dialog?

The first release of ProQuest Dialog™, Dialog's innovative new search service, is now available, offering content from the world's most trusted publishers and the tools to search it with speed and precision. Authoritative databases, such as Embase^®, BIOSIS Previews^®, MEDLINE^®, SciSearch^®: A Cited Reference Science Database, Adis Reactions Database and IMS R&D Focus, make this first release of ProQuest Dialog appealing to pharmaceutical and biomedical researchers in corporate and government organizations. Learn more about Dialog's new service by registering for a What's New session, highlighted below.

A comprehensive curriculum to expand learning

From its earliest days of classroom workshops, Dialog training has always been recognized for its superior content and excellent trainers. Recently, Dialog has reorganized its training segment to take advantage of more sophisticated online training venues.

• In late 2009, Web content was redesigned so all materials in a subject area, including courses, self-paced modules, content focus and electronic and printed materials could be found from one Web page making it easy for the user to begin learning about Dialog, refine strategies or achieve advanced skill using Dialog specific tools and techniques.
• In the second quarter of 2010, we began an intense effort to diversify the types of training to include visuals and audio in training pieces and provide more online live Dialog search demonstrations.
• In July the training team and Knowledge Center experts were united worldwide to provide comprehensive support on more diverse topics and in different languages. New courses have been created, handouts and audio presentations are available as follow-up to classes and evaluation learning checks promote learner self-evaluation.

In the latest training initiative, on-going throughout the last few months, we have taken a hard look at our courses to design sessions that meet the needs of all learners. The following categories of classes are designed to be taken sequentially.

• Fast Starts — designed to teach the basics and refine searches in Dialog. In addition, we have added Back to Basics sessions. Each 30-minute Webinar covers a specific technique such as "Setting up Alerts" or "Look it up in the online thesaurus," reinforcing commands or tools that may require more understanding or refreshing a particular technique.
• Essential Tools — focused on major content areas, identifying databases and search techniques such as using RANK or finding worldwide patent families.
• Advanced Tools — added to highlight unique aspects of a subject area, for example, searching for slogans in trademark files or finding what's in a drug's pipeline.

An effective curriculum includes five categories of concern:

• Characteristics of the participants
• Nature of the content to be taught
• Most appropriate strategies to achieve the learning goals
• Identification of learning resources
• A plan for collecting information on the effectiveness of the training curriculum.

We are working to make sure all areas of concern are met to provide the most appropriate, in-depth training possible for all our users. We will be offering more classes in all categories and subject areas. Stay tuned!

Scheduled Training Courses

Mark your calendar

A host of training events are coming up in the next months.

Instructor-led Web-based courses

Dialog's live Web-based training, offered worldwide and in different languages, is designed to expand your search skills and knowledge of Dialog and DataStar, whatever your skill level — novice to power searcher.

Free files for September and October

Each month Dialog offers the opportunity to try out new or unfamiliar sources by offering $100 of free searching (either DialUnits or connect time). Output and Alerts charges are not included. Learn more about the September featured file: IMS Patent Focus (File 447) in the September Chronolog and review the pre-recorded overview of the database. October brings Dialog NewsRoom (Files 990-998) as free files. View the overview, register for the Webinar "Harnessing the Power of Dialog NewsRoom" on Oct 7 or 13 for more details about these free files.

Save the date: 2010 Dialog Forums

Dialog forums in North America will be held in November and in Frankfurt, Germany, on October 7. Register early for the Forum Webinar!

North America

• November 10

Europe

• October 7 — Frankfurt, Germany

Featured courses for September and October

The following courses will provide techniques and show you how to search specific subject areas, learn about ProQuest Dialog™ and much more.

• What's New at Dialog (September 29) — Learn more about ProQuest Dialog™, our next generation service, post-processing, analytical and visualization tools including RefWorks and Innography^®, enhancements to customer service and support, and new opportunities and resources for developing your research expertise.
• Advanced Tools for Pharmaceutical Research on Dialog (September 23) provides tips to find a drug's laboratory code or other synonyms, follow a drug through the pipeline, to name a few applications.
• Advanced Tools for Trademark Research on Dialog (September 29) highlights applications and techniques to use in the TRADEMARKSCAN^® files on Dialog. Read the description to learn more about unique searches, cost savings suggestions and more.

Other live Web-based training

Register for basic courses, subject-specific patent, scientific or business courses, or others highlighting specific techniques such as the thesaurus or finding experts for a specific subject. Register now for these new courses:

• Overview of Chinese Patents on Dialog (October 12) — learn about the different patent databases containing Chinese patent information.
• Jumpstart Your Search with the Dialog Journal Name Finder (File 414) (October 14) — a "how to" session providing step-by-step guidance on using Dialog Journal Name Finder^® (File 414).
• Classy Patent Searching: Using Classes in Derwent World Patents Index^® (File 351) (October 28) presented by Donald Walter, Thomson Reuters.
• Finding Worldwide Business Intelligence and News on Dialog (September 30) — learn techniques for identifying and searching Dialog business and news files with significant international coverage.

These are only some of the courses we are offering. Read detailed descriptions of all course content and register now.

Training in French and German

Check the training site in German to identify courses in biomedicine and environmental intelligence and products in development and pharmacovigilance in French. Email the instructors to register. You can also register for any of the Webinar courses worldwide.

Click the My Learning tab on the Support Home page for a list of all types of classes available and links to the training schedules worldwide.

Content: the basis of all searching

One of Dialog's major strengths is its vast array of premium content from authoritative sources. If you are working on new discoveries in pharmaceutical or biomedical research, tracking a drug through the pipeline or checking out a competitor, Dialog's collection of databases is unparalleled. In this issue we'll highlight some of the resources that will provide you with more in-depth knowledge about each of these trusted sources in the biomedical and pharmaceutical areas. Researchers using the new ProQuest Dialog will also find these materials useful to learn more about the content they are searching.

Essential Tools for Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Research contains learning resources, quick reference, search aids and free practice.

• Courses. Online classes, taught by experts in the field, offer comprehensive descriptions of biomedical, pharmaceutical, biotech and chemistry databases, to name some, as well as techniques on how to search them.
• Self-paced courses. A six-part series describes pharmaceutical databases from the discovery process, through R&D and clinical trials, to marketing and post-marketing surveillance. Key Pipeline Databases on Dialog provides an overview of major drug pipeline databases so you better understand content and differences among the files.
• Quick reference. A wealth of science resources include:
• Detailed Dialog Bluesheets and DataStar Datasheets containing a file description and identifying major subject areas of individual databases.
• Focus on content providing self-paced screencasts of content for specific databases, such as Embase^®, Adis databases, PASCAL and PROMT^®.
• Quick comparison charts covering major biomedical databases and pipeline files.
• Content sheets identifying sources and databases for research on medical devices.
• Free practice. Use the ONTAP (ONline Training And Practice) databases for Free Practice Searching on Dialog or DataStar to learn more about the sources and topics in a database without incurring an online charge. Abbreviated files include: Embase^®, MEDLINE^®, SciSearch^®, BIOSIS Previews^® and more.

Whether you are using Dialog Classic or ProQuest Dialog, review these resources to gain understanding of the Dialog biomedical and pharmaceutical databases.

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