Find background

Research cycle
Cycle of scientific literature - primary, secondary, tertiary ([no date given]; http://iws.ohiolink.edu/chemistry/info/cycle.html Accessed August 31, 2007)
Peer-review (Linux Information Project (c) 2005; http://linfo.org/peer_review.html Accessed September 9, 2007)

Reference works (online or print) can be used to acquire basic information on an unfamiliar concept or to gather ideas for your topic.

Quick lookups:
AccessScience - dictionary and encyclopedia
Credo - interdisciplinary research tool - more than 25 medical dictionaries in the 'Medicine' cluster
Deciphering Medspeak - Medical Library Association
Melloni's Illustrated Medical Dictionary - Science Reference q R121 .D76 2002
Oxford Reference Online - More than 100 dictionaries - Adjust pulldown menu of search field to 'Entry Heading'

Longer explanations:
Encyclopedia of Human Biology - 2nd ed - Science Reference q QP11 .E53 1997
Encyclopedia of Cancer and Society
Encyclopedia of Stem Cell Research
Encyclopedia of Global Health - Profiles of specific countries, medical procedures and therapies, men's and women's health.
Encyclopedia of Human Nutrition - Nutrients, diets, standards (e.g., body mass index) and much more.
Encyclopedia of Obesity - Examines biological, environmental, and social determinants as well as medical treatments of obesity.
Encyclopedia of Sports Science - Science Reference q GV558 .E53 1997

Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine

Online Guides:
Merck Manual of Medical Information Home Edition - human physical and emotional disorders - especially diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control
MedlinePlus.gov Health Topics - Authoritative introductions to medical concepts, techniques, disorders, and diseases - compiled by US National Library of Medicine and other government agencies and accredited organizations.

Drugs:
Drug Information Portal - US National Library of Medicine - More than 12,000 selected drugs
PDR: Physicians' Desk Reference - Science Reference RS51 .P5 - manufacturers' drug descriptions incl side effects, dosage, warnings, etc - use with caution
PDRhealth.com - PDR's drug information - compiled by healthcare industry - caution: some unlabelled advertising
RxList - Drugs available in the USA or close to US FDA approval - compiled by pharmacists and physicians - lots of advertising

News:
BBC Science & Nature: Human Body
World Health News - Harvard Univ School of Public Health

MedlinePlus: News by Health Topic

Find books

Wellesley College Library Catalog

• tip: in the library catalog, start with keyword > choose a useful book > Full Record tab - follow the subject links to find more on that topic
• tip: to see the subscription details for a print journal or serial ['Lib has'] > Full Record tab.

Find journal articles

The following databases provide either full-text articles or citations (information about when and where the peer-reviewed article was published).

• Once you have a citation for an article, use the Find It! @ Wellesleylink from each citation to search one or more electronic journal sources through the Wellesley College Library Catalog.
• Use the name of the journal as the title and make sure you look at the dates covered carefully!
• If Wellesley does not own the article, you can request it via Interlibrary Loan (ILL).

Popular & scientific articles - great places to start your search:
Academic Search Complete - dates vary, from mid-1970s to within 6-12 months of present date - Off-campus Link
Expanded Academic ASAP - 1980s to present - Off-campus Link

Scientific American Archive - 1993-present - interdisciplinary science magazine - overview - Off-campus Link

Google Scholar - multidisciplinary - covers journal articles, theses, books, preprints - complements but does not replace other searching - use with caution - unspecified time coverage & breadth/depth of sources - Advanced Scholar Search Tips

More databases - cover peer-reviewed articles
PubMed - 1949-present - article abstracts - all fields of medicine and biomedicine - links to FindIt and e-fulltext (sometimes free) - PubMed Basics brochure
Science Direct - indexes more than 2,000 journals, often from volume one; online articles available for titles with green icons from 1995- present - Help pages
Web of Science - interdisciplinary subject searching and cited reference searching of life, physical, and social sciences - Off-campus Link

Please consult a Neil Nero for more help.

Key web sites

Consumer Health - College Students
Noah: New York Online Access to Health, Bilingual [English and Spanish] site - content provided by librarians and health professionals working together
Health Tips and More, for Wellesley Women - Wellesley College Health Service

General Consumer Health
IntelliHealth - Harvard Medical School and the Univ of Pennsylvania Dental School - ads clearly labelled
WholeHealthMD.com - integrative medicine = combination of traditional/conventional medicine and alternative/complementary health care

CAPHIS - Top 100 Health Web Sites You Can Trust - see Women's Health sites - CAPHIS is part of the Medical Library Association

Evaluate and cite sources

**Remember to evaluate web resources that you find with a search engine the same way you would evaluate print sources**

General criteria by which to evaluate webpages

1. Accuracy: How factual is the web page? Are the facts well-documented?
2. Authority: What are the professional credentials of the authors? Can you recognize the difference between a webpage author and a webmaster?
3. Objectivity: Pros and cons? Are there conflicting interests? Is the page advocating a cause? Who is the intended audience?
4. Currency: Is the page being updated regularly? How current is it now?
5. Coverage: Is there a fee to view it, or is it free? Does the page require special software to view it?
6. Ease of Use: Is the page easy to navigate? Are directions straightforward?

Health-specific criteria for Web Surfing

1. MedlinePlus: Guide to Healthy Web Surfing (concise)
   
2. 10 Things to Know about Evaluating Medical Resources on the Web (expanded version)

Use our Research Guide for Citing Sources or use EndNote software as you research your topic in the databases.

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Return to Research Guides by Subject: Biological Sciences

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