Review of Quosa
Title: Quosa
URL:
www.quosa.com
Date
Reviewed:
Description: Quosa - software that
must be downloaded and run on either pc or mac - can
search and retrieve the full text of the hundreds of articles (if you have
access) found in a PubMed search, allowing you to do
further screening. These articles can then be saved into Quosa
folders and the references quickly downloaded into reference software like
Endnote.Ý Furthermore, as your library of
stored articles grows, Quosa can perform full text
searches of that library.
Strengths: If you find that you spend too much time trying to
find specific articles with PubMed, you may find Quosa helpful.Ý
Rather than just searching keywords and abstracts, Quosa
searches the full text, so it is quite thorough.Ý An additional benefit is that you can set it
up to automatically search and download relevant articles, so if you frequently
perform the same search and dig around getting the articles, this could make
your life easier.
Weaknesses: The usefulness of this software
depends on how often you have trouble finding specific articles with just a
normal PubMed search.Ý
Furthermore, importing references into Endnote from PubMed
really isnít that difficult, so thatís a relatively small convenience.Ý Also, itís essentially useless if you do not
have access to the articles ń for example if you canít access TDnet ń because then it will only search the text of
articles that are free, which are few and far between.
Comprehensiveness:
As comprehensive as Tuftís
online journal catalog
Timeliness:
ÝSearches performed as frequently as you desire
Ease
of Use: Intuitive
Responsiveness:
ÝIt definitely takes a while to do a full text search
Similar
or Related Sites: I
donít know of any similar sites or software
Overall
Evaluation: 3.5
stars
Reviewer:
Kevin Jefferies
Email:
kevin.jefferies@tufts.edu