Find news

News:
MedlinePlus: News by Health Topic
BBC Science & Nature: Human Body & Mind - Browse Hot Topics
World Health News - Harvard Univ School of Public Health

LexisNexis Academic - US & foreign papers, 1980's to present - text only
For more news sources, see Research Guide: News

Learn about the 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)
Open Access (Peter Suber, (CC-A 2.5 license), December 29, 2004; http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/brief.htm Accessed September 9, 2007)

Find background

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

Language of Medicine
AccessScience - scientific encyclopedia - check out Medicine/Medical Science
Deciphering Medspeak - Medical Library Association
Melloni's Illustrated Medical Dictionary - Science Reference q R121 .D76 2002
Oxford Reference Online - Medicine - Advanced Search

Longer explanations:

Herbs
American Pharmaceutical Association Practical Guide to Natural Medicines. Science Reference RM666 .H33 P45 1999
Nutraceuticals: the Complete Encyclopedia of Supplements, Science Reference RM258.5 .N88 2001

Biomedicine
Merck Manual of Medical Information Home Edition - human physical and emotional disorders - especially diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control
Encyclopedia of Human Nutrition Online

Duke Encyclopedia of New Medicine: Conventional and Alternative Medicine for All Ages, Science Reference q R733 .D85 2006
Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine - 3rd ed - 2006
Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine - 2nd ed - 2005

Drugs
PDRhealth.com - drug information - clinical trials - caution: some unlabelled advertising
PDR: Physicians' Desk Reference - Science Ref RS51 .P5 - manufacturers' drug descriptions - use with caution
RxList - more than 4,000 drugs available in the USA or close to US FDA approval

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).

• Use the Find It! @ Wellesleylink from each citation to search one or more electronic journal sources or to search our Library Catalog.
• If Wellesley College cannot access the article, use the 'Find It' link to Interlibrary Loan, which automatically links the requestor to a form to submit for either
  • NExpress (several nearby libraries, often arrives in 2-3 days) or
  • ILL (thousands of libraries worldwide, arrives in 2days - 2weeks).

Popular & scientific articles - great places to start your search
Scholarly or Popular? - UCLA Library

• Academic Search Premier - dates vary, from mid-1970s to within 6-12 months of present date - Off-campus Link
• Scientific American Archive - 1993-present - interdisciplinary science magazine - overview - Off-campus Link

More databases - cover peer-reviewed articles

• PubMed - articles in all fields of medicine and biomedicine, with abstracts and links to additional resources from the National Library of Medicine - 1949-present PubMed Basics brochure - Saving Citations (and Time) with the Clipboard
• Science Direct - online articles (= green icon) for hundreds of scientific journals, from 1995 onward - Off-campus link

For individual help with your topic, please consult Science Librarian Irene Laursen or Neil Nero

Key web sites

Consumer Health - College Students
Go Ask Alice! - Columbia University health educators - Q & A format - nonjudgmental, factual
Noah: New York Online Access to Health, Bilingual [English/Spanish] site - librarians and health professionals working together
Health Tips for Wellesley Women - WelC Health Service - Student Services

General Consumer Health
IntelliHealth - Harvard Medical School and the Univ of Pennsylvania Dental School - ads clearly labelled
WholeHealthMD.com - integrative medicine = traditional/conventional medicine + alternative/complementary health care
healthfinder.gov - reliable health information for informed laypersons - no advertising or sponsorships
Health Topics - MedlinePlus - reputable sources for healthcare consumers - exhaustive list of common medical disorders and diseases - no advertising

Evaluating Information Sources
Evaluating Health Information - MedlinePlus
Health Insight - Taking Charge of Health Information - Harvard School of Public Health

Cosmetics
Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database - Environmental Working Group
Personal Care Products - Household Products Database - US National Library of Medicine

Herbal Medicine
Herbal Medicine - pathfinder links to short articles or fact sheets from reputable sources
About Herbs, Botanicals, and Other Products - Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center evidence-based database
Herbal Medicine - Internet Resources - Univ of Pittsburgh medical librarian

How to Evaluate and Cite Sources

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

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

More on Evaluation/Critical Thinking for Web Surfing

Citing sources
Sciences: Documenting Sources with CSE Style [Council of Science Editors] - Use Name-Year CSE/CBE style
tip: scroll down to the CSE reference list, use the pulldown menu to view examples of CSE-formatted citations

Elements of Style - Strunk

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Return to Research Guides by Subject: Biological Sciences
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