DHYG 108
Dental Hygiene Research
Avoid plagiarism by properly citing your sources. Please go to the Citations webpage to learn how.
Finding Library Materials
The snapshot of the Library Homepage below highlights the Find menu which is a good starting point to find various library resources, such as books, articles, journals, subject guides, etc..
Starting your Research
When first learning about a topic, you may want to start off by gathering background information from encyclopedias and other reference books. Consider using:
- Subject-specific encyclopedias that can be found in the Online Catalog by doing a keyword search for medical and encyclopedia.
--If you specifically want online books, try: - Stat!Ref: This database searches the contents of many medical reference books.
- Ebrary is a collection of many online books that may prove to be helpful. For more information on how to use Ebrary, click here.
- Online Reference Resources: This is a collection of online reference books (mostly encyclopedias). Of particular interest for this class are:
- Health & Medical encyclopedias
If you are doing research from off-campus, you will need to log-on to use databases and other online resources licensed by FSU. All you will need to log-on from off-campus is your MyFSU username and password. Click here for more information on off-campus database access.
Find Articles, Images, and more in Databases
DermAtlas: This is a freely available database that has many medical images, as well as links to condition descriptions. When you find an image of interest, click on the image, and you will get more information on the topic, as well as links that may be helpful, such as results from other databases including PubMed, MedlinePlus, and hopefully a link to Related Resources which may link you out to Dermatologic Disease Database that provides a nice condition overview.
Dental Images Atlas: Provided by the University of Iowa, use the left-hand index to find pictures of the condition that you are studying.
Stat!Ref
As stated above, 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.
Click here for a Stat!Ref Database Guide.
Access Medicine
This database also searches through a number of medical reference books. You can use the topic breakdown to get specific information, and you can also use the Advanced Search to restrict your search to images.
Health & Wellness Resource Center
This is a great resource to find easy to understand patient information, as well as research articles, videos, and more!
General OneFile
This is a general database that will be useful for searching about any topic you can come up with! You can do either a Subject search (Find Subject) or a keyword search, using the search box at the top of the page. If having difficulties finding what you need, go to the Advanced Search.
PubMed
This is the largest biomedical database, with over 21 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.
Click here for PubMed Database Tutorials.
CINAHL
The Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL) currently gathers information from more than 3000 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.
Cochrane Library
The Cochrane Library is a valuable resource for evidence-based medicine. This library is growing, so be sure to check back at a later time if you are not currently finding information on your topic. You can search using keywords such as dental hygiene, or browse Cochrane Reviews by topic.
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. You will notice the Find it! links following individual citations that will indicate the availability of the article online, in the library, or the need to interlibrary loan the article. Click on the Go button and you will be taken to the online version, library holdings record, or interlibrary loan form to obtain the article you desire. See image below.
Sample Article Link-Out:
Evaluating your Articles
Before requesting articles from interlibrary loan, please review the abstract and make sure that the article is on-topic. Also, please insure that the article is in a language that you speak, as some databases, such as PubMed index many non-English articles that have abstracts written in English. After you have evaluated the topical coverage and language of the article, please do not hesitate to request it through interlibrary loan if it is not available on campus.
Other Useful Links
Bibby Dental Library of Images
Oral Health for Infants, Children, Adolescents, and Pregnant Women Knowledge Path
Find Articles by searching databases.
Find Books and More in the online catalog. Look for books, videos, journals, and other library holdings.
APA Citation Style Guide:
Learn basics about APA style, a prevalent citation format in the medical field.
Any more questions? Contact: Alison (Ali) Konieczny / Email / Phone: 231-591-3696 / Office: FLITE 315
Don't forget, you are welcome to come to the Oval Information Desk and ask for help any time. You can also call us 231-591-3602 or chat with us.
Last update: October 17, 2011