Finding Library Materials

To find books, journals, videos, and other library materials, there are several resources to use. Beginning at the library's homepage, you will find links for locating all types of library materials.

• Find Books, videos, and more using the online catalog. The online catalog is set-up so you can perform keyword searches, subject searches, title searches, etc.
• Find Articles using Databases. You can select Health and Medical Resources if you are specifically searching a health-related topic, or select other subject areas as necessary.
• Find Journals using the online catalog journals tab. Journals may be available online, in print, or in microform. You can search by the full journal title, title words, or by subject.
• Find Online Encyclopedias, Handbooks, and other Reference Books using the Electronic Reference Resources.

Finding Articles using FLITE Databases

To find articles pertinent to your topic, it is essential to use the appropriate databases that provide access to many citations and full-text articles. If you are doing research from off-campus, you will need to log-on to use databases licensed by FSU. You can log-on to the databases using your MyFSU username and password. Click here for more information on off-campus database access.

General OneFile
This is a general database that will be useful for searching about any topic you can come up with! The default search is a Subject Guide Search, allowing you to search one topic at a time. If you are having difficulties finding the proper subject term, switch to the Basic Search or Advanced Search and perform a keyword search. Also use the Basic Search or Advanced Search if combining search terms. In the Advanced Search you can limit your articles to particular journals, as well as to full-text, peer-reviewed, etc.

Click here for a General OneFile Database Guide.

Stat!Ref
Stat!Ref is an excellent starting point for researching medical topics. Enter your search term into the search box and you will obtain a rank-ordered list of results taken from various medical encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, and other medical reference books. A very helpful feature of this database is the Related Concepts box to the left of the results that will provide you with synonyms for your topic. These related concepts or synonyms can be used to enhance your searches in this database, as well as the other databases. You can also use medical acronyms and abbreviations when searching in this database.

Health & Wellness Resource Center
Find information from medical encyclopedias, journal articles, pamphlets, videos, and more using this database that is filled with information oriented towards health care consumers. This is a nice place to get a general overview of different diseases and conditions, as well as medications.

CINAHL
The Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL) currently gathers information from more than 1800 journals. Use the CINAHL Headings subtab to get more subject-specific information on various topics. When you have found your subject heading, you may click on it to break your topic down by subdivision. Click on the refine search tab to add limits such as peer-reviewed or publication date limits. You can narrow and expand your search using the options available in this database.

Click here for a CINAHL Database Guide.

PubMed
This is the largest biomedical database, with over 17 million citations. Search using keywords and then limit your search if necessary using the limits tab, related articles link, or selecting the Review tab to see only review articles. Other highly useful resources linked from PubMed include Single Citation Matcher and Consumer Health.
Note: You must click into the article record to see the Find It link that will attempt to link you out to the article.

Click here for a PubMed Database Guide.

Obtaining the Full-Text of Articles

In some databases you will see an option for a Text version of the document or a PDF version. In general, the PDF version is preferable as it is most often a scanned version of the original and will therefore contain the graphics. When e-mailing, printing, or saving a group of articles, be sure to select the full-text or PDF option if available.

Some databases contain little full-text, but allow you to link out to Ferris' holdings or the interlibrary loan request form. The picture below is an example of the options you may see when trying to locate an article or journal.

Evaluating your Information

When writing research papers, scholarly articles from Academic Journals and other reliable sources, such as reference books should be utilized. The databases discussed above can help you locate reliable information. If you are using websites as sources of information, be sure to evaluate the website. For more information on how to evaluate a website, please click here. Also, don't forget the link-out from Pubmed to Consumer Health, which links you out to reliable information sources that have been selected by the National Library of Medicine.

APA Citation Style Guide: Learn basics about APA style, a prevalent citation format in the medical field.

If you have any questions about what was covered in class, or regarding using the library for research, E-mail Ali

Also, please feel free to contact a reference librarian by visiting at the South Service Desk, or calling at 231-591-3602 or chatting with us live.

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Last Update: February 19, 2008