Finding basic information
As you start to look for basic information about your topic, the following sources should be clear and helpful:
- MedlinePlusProvides access to good health and wellness info, medical encyclopedias and dictionaries, and links to self-help groups, clinical trials, lists of hospitals and physicians health and information in Spanish and other languages.
- Gale eBooksCheck Gale for basic summaries of medical or anatomical topics. Gale is also a great resource for interpreting the language in your scholarly article.
- Library CatalogBooks often present a good introduction to general info on your topic. Find print and online books above.
Evaluate Websites
While you're doing Google searches to either narrow your topic or in order to dig up more information on certain subject, you want to be careful to decide if the information you find is trustworthy.
When it comes to science, nearly everyone has opinions: should we be labeling genetically modified food for consumer's awareness? What will fracking do for our economy or to our groundwater supply? Your job is to evaluate the information you can find through search engines such as Google to find the good websites--those written by authors with clear expertise, with up-to-date information.
Authorship: Who created this website? What is their background on the topic? Are they trustworthy?
Bias/Mission: Why was the website created? What point of view does the author or website have? Does that limit the facts they present or how the facts are presented?
Date: How old is the information that is presented? Is it still accurate?
Questions? Check out the COD Library's guide to evaluating information.
Finding Scholarly Articles
Now that you've picked a topic and discovered background information you'll need to find a scholarly research or review article. Use the links below to find something of interest.
- Academic Search Ultimate This link opens in a new windowSearch ASU for scholarly articles on your medical topic as well.
- Science DirectSearch Science Direct for full text scholarly articles, both research and review.
- PubMedPubMed is a free government database that indexes research literature focused on medical information. It's a massive database, so you'll want to search in a focused way. Not all articles will be in full text.
You can also check out the following guides:
Building a Podcast or Video
Your final presentation can be created in a range of formats. Thinking about creating a video or podcast, but need help with equipment or editing your project?
Check out the Library Media Lab (link below) in order to check out cameras or microphones and to reserve computers in the lab to edit projects or learn more about what software you might use to create a good project.
- Library Media LabYou can cultivate skills and explore technology through the Library Media Lab, which houses Mac computer workstations, audio and video recording spaces, and equipment for student checkout, such as audio kits, lighting kits, photo and video cameras, and other media to support creativity and assignments across disciplines
Cite
Need some help putting together citations? Check out the helpful links below:
- COD APA Citation GuideMake sure to look at the website citation example under "Electronic Sources."
- COD MLA Citation GuideUse the menu on the right to look at citations for different sources
Want software to create citations for you? Check out the database below:
- NoodleTools
NoodleTools allows you to find, organize and store your research citations all in one place. Create complete Works Cited and Bibliographies with the click of a mouse, and keep notes and ideas related to your work all in one place. Available in browser and mobile app.
Create an account with your COD email to access this resource.
