Montgomery College Libraries > Pat Semple > Biomedical Scholars

Webpage created by Pat Semple, Montgomery College Libraries

As we discussed in the library instruction session, here are some reminders about how to locate the resources you will need for this course. If you have any trouble, send me an e-mail at pat.semple@montgomerycollege.edu and I will do my best to reply to you within 24 hours.

A search expression that uses Boolean operators is one of the best ways to pinpoint information in a library catalog, database, or search engine. There are three components to Boolean search expressions:

• Keywords: tend to be the nouns that best describe a topic
• Boolean Operators: AND, OR, and NOT
• Punctuation: quotation marks "" for phrases, parentheses ( ) with OR, truncation symbols * ? for root word searches

Here are some sample searches using keywords and Boolean operators:

("avian flu" OR "bird flu" OR "avian influenza")

"global warming" AND (oceans OR "marine life" OR coast)

(child* OR youth) AND obesity

"chesapeake bay" AND pollut*

(television OR tv) AND violence

iraq AND shiites AND sunnis

steroids AND (athletes OR sports)

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Academic Search Premier

Enter your search expression in the search box, and remember to use the Boolean operators and the appropriate punctuation (see examples below).

Expanded Academic ASAP

Enter your search expression in the search box, and remember to use the Boolean operators and the appropriate punctuation (see examples below).

SIRS Knowledge Source

Don't see your topic in the directory of Leading Issues? Use the radio buttons to select "Keyword/Natural Language" and enter your topic; remember to used quotation marks if it's a phrase:     "junk dna"    "gene therapy"

National Newspapers

Full text of New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Baltimore Sun.

Nature: International Weekly Journal of Science

Access the College's online subscription to this publication.

Health Source: Consumer Edition

Indexes more than 600 titles; 300 are full text.

Health Source: Nursing Academic Edition

Provides 550 scholarly full text journals focusing on many medical disciplines; abstracts and indexes 850 journals in all.

Stat!Ref

A collection of online textbooks.

Science Direct

Some very dense reading here, but also very relevant to your topics.

REMEMBER: Your results can be sorted by date (most recent first) or relevance (highest occurrence of keywords).

Here are some sample searches using keywords (they tend to be nouns) and Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT):

"heart disease" AND women AND treatment

"bird flu" OR "avian flu" OR "avian influenza"

emerg* AND (virus OR "infectious disease")

"human genome" OR (human AND gene AND mapping) OR "human chromosome"

"junk dna" OR retrotransposons

diabetes AND ("type 1" OR "type I")

"gene therapy" AND "cystic fibrosis"

The Merck Manual of Medical Information: 2nd Home Edition, Online Version    (virus, "gene therapy")

Formerly only available as print publication. (Merck & Co.)

Access Science    ("junk dna")

Allow you to enter Boolean search expression or use directory to drill down.

Credo Reference

Search their entire collection of online medical encyclopedias at once.

Encyclopedia Britannica

In addition to the Encyclopedia Britannica, includes links to Web pages and selected articles.

Encyclopedia of Public Health

Information on topics in public health; publications are intended for laymen interested in health and medicinal issues.

National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus

   EXCELLENT!

(National Institutes of Health)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

   EXCELLENT!

(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

The World Health Organization

   EXCELLENT!

(The World Health Organization)

The National Academies

"Advisors to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine"; browse the Topics tab for subject areas. (National Academy of Sciences)

Kaiser Family Foundation

HIV/AIDS, Medicaid, Medicare, minority health, Rx drugs, health coverage, women's health. (Kaiser Family Foundation)

Health Communication: Annenberg Center

"[A]ddresses public awareness of health policy and health-related behaviors." (Annenberg Public Policy Center; University of Pennsylvania)

American Cancer Society

(American Cancer Society)

American Diabetes Association

(American Diabetes Association)

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse

(National Institutes of Health)

American Heart Association

(American Heart Association)

AIDS Epidemic Update 2003

(United Nations)

HIV/AIDS

(Kaiser Family Foundation)

Youth & HIV/STDs

(Kaiser Family Foundation)

Avian Influenza

(The World Health Organization)

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