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Instructions on how to use Biomedical Informatics Publications
 
Search Instructions
 
Search allows you to look for a particular report or a set of reports matching user-defined criteria. Users can define the criteria by specifying values for various fields. By default, 'AND' is applied between multiple words in a field and also between two different fields. However, you can choose to apply different boolean operators and form complex queries. Some examples have been provided to guide your search.
 
Search Field Options
 
Title
Reports can be searched by words in their Title. You can search using single or multiple words. Note that common words like a, the, an etc are not used for searching.
 
Author
You can search reports by using the reports Author(s) Name. Author Names must be in the format Lastname First Initial. For example, Shortliffe EH. First Names of Authors are not Stored in the Database. To search over multiple Authors separate the names by a comma, as Shortliffe EH, Cimino J. You may also like to see the listing of reports by Author.
 
Year
Reports can also be searched by specifying the year of publication. Year must be entered as a 4 digit number. E.g. 2001. You may also like to search for your report in the listing by Year.
 
Publication
You can choose the Name of the Publication of the Journal in which the Report was Published. The Names are provided as a Pull Down Menu.
 
Type
The Type field Describes the Type of the Report. A report can be classified as a Journal Article, Abstract etc. So if you want to search for all the Journal Articles by Shortliffe then you can select type as Journal Article and enter Author as Shortliffe.
 
Boolean Operators
You can make your search more complex by choosing to apply 'AND', 'OR', 'AND NOT' boolean operators between each Field. For example if you want to find all reports by Shortliffe or Cimino, you can choose two fields, one with 'Author=Shortliffe' and the other with 'Author=Cimino' and apply the 'OR' operator between the two input fields.
 
Search Examples

1. Search Goal: To search for all reports that have the words computer and interface in the title.
    Strategy:Choose the title field from the drop list and enter 'computer interface' in the field

2. Search Goal: To search for all reports written by 'Shortliffe EH' and containing the words computer and     interface in the title.
    Strategy: Do as above and then choose the author field from another drop list and type 'Shortliffe EH'.     Use an 'AND' between the two fields.

 
Report Instructions
 
Adding/Editing Reports
You need to login to add/modify/delete a report in the Database. To login, click on the Manage Link and when prompted use your dbmi username and password to authenticate. The authentication process takes place over an SSL connection.
 
Ownership of Reports
Every report in the Database has an associated owner who has the rights to modify or delete the report. All the authors of a report are designated as the owners of the report.
 
Full Text of Reports
There are two ways in which you can provide access to full text of your reports. You can specify the URL of the full text (Full text URL field in the submission form) as it resides on the publication's website. In this way we are not violating any copyright agreements. The other method is to upload the full text of the pre-prints or any other version you maintain for your purposes (Full text file field). These files will be hosted on our web server and will be accessible to everyone. You can use both the Full text URL and upload the file.
 
Supported File Extensions
Users can upload copies of the full text of their reports. However, only certain file formats will be accepted by the server. The supported file types are .doc, .pdf, .rtf, .txt, .ps, .html.
 
Metacharacters
While filling forms for report submission or modification, any use of metacharacters like *,^,%,#, will be detected and the inputs will be cleaned of such characters.
 
Browser Requirements
The application is compatible with Internet Explorer/5+, Safari and FireFox/1.0. Javascript should be turned on for full functionality. Cookies are used for session management.
 
FAQs
 
What do I need to Login?
Currently, the application allows only authorized users to add/modify/delete reports from the Publications Database. You will need your DBMI userid/password to authenticate with the system and manage your listed reports.
 
Why cant I use my Columbia UNI to login?
Unfortunately, we can't allow people to use Columbia UNIs because we want to limit access to only the members within the Department of Biomedical Informatics. If you don't have a DBMI user account and are part of the department, then please contact Frank Fries or Sharib Khan.
 
Can I upload unpublished reports?
Yes. You can upload any unpublished reports. To do so just choose 'Technical Report' in the report's type field and select 'Unpublished' as the report's publication name.
 
Can I add reports that I published prior to joining DBMI?
Absolutely. You are encouraged to keep your publication history as detailed and uptodate as possible.
 
Can I add abstracts submitted as Conference Proceedings?
Once again, yes. You can add conference proceedings. Just choose the appropriate selection for report type (abstract, poster, panel) and the name of the conference from the publication names. We strongly advise you to use the standard names for conferences. For example, use 'Proc Annu Symp Comput Appl Med Care' and not 'Proceedings of the 12th Annual Symposium of Computer Applications in Medical Care."
 
I have a complaint/suggestion. Who do I contact?
You can send all comments/complaints/suggestions regarding this application to Sharib Khan. Utmost effort will be made to act upon your feedback as soon as possible.