Working With Research Topics

When you are starting your research with a broad topic (for example, diabetes) it is important to

 focus your research in some way. Here are several ideas:

• Focus on a particular aspect of a condition/disease (Drug therapies for diabetes)
• Focus on a particular population (Diabetes in African-American males)
• Focus on a particular location (Prevalence and treatment of diabetes in Asia)
• Focus on a particular time period (Treatment of diabetes during the 19th century)

If you don't narrow down your search in some way, you will retrieve way too many results.

Health Care Article Databases

Article databases provide references, abstracts and sometimes the full article from journals, magazines, books and other published literature. Here are the most important health-related article databases: 

• MEDLINE (EbscoHost)
  The complete MEDLINE database from 1966 to the present. MEDLINE provides references and abstracts to the research journal literature in all areas of medicine, including nursing and dentistry.

• CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) 
  References and abstracts to the nursing and allied health literature including articles, books and dissertations from 1982 to the present time.  Some full text articles.

• Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition
  Over 500 scholarly full text journals covering the health and medical areas. Abstracts and references for over 500 additional journals.

• EbscoHost Medical Databases
  Ability to search CINAHL, MEDLINE  and other medical databases with one search. 

• ScienceDirect College Edition: Health & Life Sciences Journals Collection
  Science Direct College Edition is a database of full-text, high quality journals published by Elsevier. The database consists of 3 different collections--Social & Behavioral Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Health & Life Sciences. Citations & abstracts are provided for pre- 2002 information and for Elsevier journals the library does not subscribe to. 2002 - present.  

• Biomed Central
  Biomed Central is an independent publishing house, committed to providing free access to more than 170 peer-reviewed biomedical research articles. Online journals cover biology, medicine, and the life sciences. Open Access, but new users need to set up an account to use it.

• Alt-HealthWatch
  Nearly 50,000 articles from over 160 international, peer-reviewed and professional journals, magazines, reports, proceedings and association and consumer newsletters concerning alterative health issues.  Most publications from 1990 to the present.

• Academic Search Premier
  The world's largest academic multi-disciplinary database, Academic Search Premier provides full text for more than 4,600 scholarly publications, including full text for more than 3,500 peer-reviewed journals. Coverage spans virtually every area of academic study and offers information dating as far back as 1975. This database is updated on a daily basis via EBSCOhost.

See the full list of health-related article databases on the library's Database Finder page.
  

Working with Article Databases

Here are a few important things to remember about searching in article databases.

• You never want to type your entire research question/thesis statement into the search box. Choose a few important keywords related to your topic and search with those. One keyword is probably not enough to narrow down your search--you will receive thousands of results. Using between 2 and 5 keywords is best.
• Turn your string of keywords into a search statement by connecting them with Boolean operators (and/or/not). Example: diabetes AND drug AND (therapy OR treatment)
• Many of these article databases search both popular materials (Time, Newsweek, People) and scholarly (JAMA, New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet). Depending on the type of research you are doing, you will probably want to focus on the more scholarly/peer-reviewed materials. Most of the article databases will provide you with an option to limit your search results to scholarly or peer-reviewed articles. Look for this option on the main search page of the article database.
• To find the full-text of the article, look for the "Find Full Text" link near the article citation on your results page. Then look for the "Article" link. If we don't have access to the article, you can request it through the library's interlibrary loan service.

 

Evaluating Resources

Just because an article has been published in a journal or magazine does not mean that it is the best resource for you to use. Here are some important questions to ask about the articles you find:

Accuracy or credibility: Is the information provided based on proven facts?
Is it published in a scholarly or peer-reviewed publication?
Have you found similar information in a scholarly or peer-reviewed publication? 

Author or authority: Who is the author?
Is she or he affiliated with a reputable university or organization?
What is the author's educational background or experience?
What is their area of expertise?
Has the author published in scholarly or peer reviewed publications?

Coverage or relevance: Does the information covered meet your information needs?
Is the coverage basic or comprehensive?

How relevant is it to your research interests?

Currency: When was the information published?

Is timeliness important to your information need?

Objectivity or bias: How objective or biased is the information?
What do you know about who is publishing this information?
Is there a political, social or commercial agenda?
Does the information try to inform or persuade?
How balanced is the presentation on opposing perspectives?
What is the tone of language used (angry, sarcastic, balanced, educated)?

Sources or documentation: Is there a list of references or works cited?
Is there information provided to support statements of fact?
Can you contact the author to ask for, and receive, the sources used?

Using APA to Format Your References and Papers

This page will help you create a list of references using APA format. Pay close attention to the example of citing a scholarly journal article retrieved from an electronic database. This page will help you format an entire research paper (including title page, figures, captions, etc.). You can also use the complete APA Style Guide available in the library (just as at the Reference Desk).

Google Scholar

Google Scholar is Google's search engine focused on the more scholarly literature, including their Google Books collection and many many journal citations. While Google Scholar may not be as comprehensive or as focused as some of the Stewart Library's article databases, it is better than using the main Google search page to find scholarly journal articles. It can also provide some information regarding how many times a particular journal article has been cited and by whom.

You can access full-text of many (but not all) of the articles listed in Google Scholar, but first you need to make sure that your computer is set up to recognize that you are affiliated with WSU.

Once you've selected Weber as your library, be sure to hit the Save Preferences button. Your computer is now set up to recognize that you are a WSU student and you will have access to more full-text articles. Look for the Full-Text @ My Library links or Resources @ My Library links.

 

For More Help:

Contact the Health Sciences Librarian

G. Megan Davis

Stewart Library, Room 149

megandavis1@weber.edu

801-626-6069

Contact the Library