Ovid platform should allow search histories to be saved locally as executable text files
We health sciences librarians take part in systematic review searches that in some cases involve very long search histories. The current Ovid platform allows saving of search histories either as non-executable text files, or as executable files inside Ovid personal accounts. Many librarians prefer the latter mode of saving because we can re-run and/or modify the searches easily.
As librarians we do searches daily, it is very easy to accumulate a very long list of saved histories in our Ovid personal accounts, which makes work less efficient because Ovid does not provide any form of filing by sub-folders or file management. Everything is in one clumsy long list. We need a way to archive older histories without deleting them or giving up the capability of reviving them with the click of a few buttons.
We would like to ask Ovid to develop a feature that allow users the option to save search histories on their local computers as executable text files. These text files have small file sizes, can be stored and archived easily on a local computers, can be re-executed on demand as long as the correct text files are uploaded to Ovid during a search session. These files can also be shared with library users so they can re-run the searches in their own Ovid sessions.
Example of such a feature can be found in the Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics) search interface.
Updates
February 16, 2017
The silence from the platform developers continues even as the list of grievances grows in the comments section. Managing these long, disorganized search histories remains a daily frustration for us all, and I am still pushing for a direct response regarding the local storage feature.
18 Comments
This is very much needed. Right now my method is to create a new Ovid account for each systematic review I work on, and share the username and password with everyone; I am always a little bit worried about someone altering or deleting searches by accident. I'd much rather just be able to save and send them a search, either as a downloadable file, or as a jumpstart that does NOT require them to log into the account. Why do you even still have the jumpstart feature? It's useless if it's tied to a user account; the only thing you can do with it is to e-mail it to yourself.
An additional benefit of an executable text file that can be shared with library clients is that if a librarian leaves an institution, the clients (or their new librarian) don't have to enter a search in the database from scratch to run an update.
It would be beneficial to our multiple searches and to share with our clients.
This would be incredibly helpful to librarians working with researchers on knowledge synthesis projects.
Please consider this suggestion as our lists of saved searches continue to grow.
Ovid called me and say they will follow up with our petition. If you have anything else to add please feel free to comment here as I believe Ovid will read your comments. I agreed that a JumpStart is useless unless it can be opened by anyone with Ovid access to a certain database. I was so excited when the JumpStart feature first become available, but then discovered one needs to be in the same personal/institution account login for it to work. It is a file sharing feature but does not work like one, unless you sacrifice your privacy and save your strategy in the public login of your whole institution, but then the whole hospital knows what you are researching.
Would very much welcome this feature
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Ovid platform should allow search histories to be saved locally as executable text files
We health sciences librarians take part in systematic review searches that in some cases involve very long search histories. The current Ovid platform allows saving of search histories either as non-executable text files, or as executable files inside Ovid personal accounts. Many librarians prefer the latter mode of saving because we can re-run and/or modify the searches easily.
As librarians we do searches daily, it is very easy to accumulate a very long list of saved histories in our Ovid personal accounts, which makes work less efficient because Ovid does not provide any form of filing by sub-folders or file management. Everything is in one clumsy long list. We need a way to archive older histories without deleting them or giving up the capability of reviving them with the click of a few buttons.
We would like to ask Ovid to develop a feature that allow users the option to save search histories on their local computers as executable text files. These text files have small file sizes, can be stored and archived easily on a local computers, can be re-executed on demand as long as the correct text files are uploaded to Ovid during a search session. These files can also be shared with library users so they can re-run the searches in their own Ovid sessions.
Example of such a feature can be found in the Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics) search interface.
Updates
February 16, 2017
The silence from the platform developers continues even as the list of grievances grows in the comments section. Managing these long, disorganized search histories remains a daily frustration for us all, and I am still pushing for a direct response regarding the local storage feature.
18 Comments
The ability to save search histories locally as executable text files would really streamline the literature search updates our librarians routinely perform.
This is very much needed. Right now my method is to create a new Ovid account for each systematic review I work on, and share the username and password with everyone; I am always a little bit worried about someone altering or deleting searches by accident. I'd much rather just be able to save and send them a search, either as a downloadable file, or as a jumpstart that does NOT require them to log into the account. Why do you even still have the jumpstart feature? It's useless if it's tied to a user account; the only thing you can do with it is to e-mail it to yourself.
An additional benefit of an executable text file that can be shared with library clients is that if a librarian leaves an institution, the clients (or their new librarian) don't have to enter a search in the database from scratch to run an update.
It would be beneficial to our multiple searches and to share with our clients.
This would be incredibly helpful to librarians working with researchers on knowledge synthesis projects.
Please consider this suggestion as our lists of saved searches continue to grow.
Ovid called me and say they will follow up with our petition. If you have anything else to add please feel free to comment here as I believe Ovid will read your comments. I agreed that a JumpStart is useless unless it can be opened by anyone with Ovid access to a certain database. I was so excited when the JumpStart feature first become available, but then discovered one needs to be in the same personal/institution account login for it to work. It is a file sharing feature but does not work like one, unless you sacrifice your privacy and save your strategy in the public login of your whole institution, but then the whole hospital knows what you are researching.
Would very much welcome this feature
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The ability to save search histories locally as executable text files would really streamline the literature search updates our librarians routinely perform.