Welcome to our Health Reference Center tutorial!
Health Reference Center provides both abstracts (summaries) and full-text articles from 130 magazines and journals. It's a good first stop for any sort of health-related research.
Before we get started, it's important to remember that no resource - whether an electronic database, a book, or the Internet - is a substitute for going to a doctor. If you're sick, don't use the databases. See a professional.
For research, you can start here:
http://library.cortland.edu/
Under the "Find Articles" heading, click on "By Subject".
Here's our subject listing of Memorial Library resources.
Which one would you choose for health resources?
That might have been easy, but I wanted to make a point. You should always look further down on the list to make sure you've got the best match for the topic.
Let's click on the link.
Now we scroll down to get to the database listing.
Here we are. Now let's click on the link to enter.
Let's say I have a friend who can't drink milk. I'd like to find out more. Is cheese or ice cream OK? What happens to them if they have dairy products accidentally?
I'll run a search for the phrase: can't drink milk.
I tried to think of some other words, but this is the best I can come up with right now.
If you're not looking for a particular phrase, you'll want to use AND between the words.
"Can't drink milk" is a phrase, so we can leave it as it is.
Title, citation and abstract are best for a first search. "In entire article content" often provides results that just aren't that useful.
Should I keep this search to articles with text?
I think so.
Remember, this only searches for articles with text in this database. It doesn't cover all the other great databases Memorial Library offers.
Later, we'll show you how to find articles with full-text in other databases.
"Refereed publications" are the same as peer-reviewed publications.
Experts in the field look over articles and make sure that the information is sound before it's published.
Refereed publications are often primary research and written for specialists.
Generally, peer-reviewed is better, but right now I need something basic. I won't check this box.
We could also search the database for articles from a particular time.
That's not important to the search we're running, though.
We can also search within particular journals, if we know a title is in this database.
We can also browse the list of journals with the "Browse" button.
Let's get on with the search.
Just one result - and my friend's not a baby!
Still, we might be able to use this bad search anyway. More on that in a minute.
This link will lead us to the article's full text in this database.
Does this article exist in another database? If so, clicking on the "Find Fulltext" link will help.
This is the library's SFX service. It shows listings of full text of an article in the library databases.
This article is only in this database.
If we don't have an article you need for your paper, the library can order it through ILLiad.
It usually takes about a week for the article to arrive, so start your research early!
Finally, clicking on "citation information" will give you a formatted citation.
If you check it carefully, this task can make those lists of sources for your papers much easier.
Let's see what we can do about this bad search.
We'll look at the text first.
Now we can scroll down further in the article...
... to the subject headings.
These are the words the people who assembled the database used to index the articles.
Take a look at those headings. What is the best one for finding out why someone can't drink milk?
This one looks best to me.
I could use the "View" buttons to find particular kinds of sources.
On the other hand, I feel more comfortable with just running a normal search. I'll go back up to the top.
On the left is a "Back to..." menu.
I'll choose "Back to... Search".
Let's try a search for lactose intolerance.
The "History" window allows you to run an older search again, if you like.
I think I like this one much better!
196 hits! That's much better than before.
Now we have to find a good result.
This is a new topic for us, so maybe this encyclopedia article is a good start.
This looks good. We've got what the term means, a basic description...
...its causes, how you can tell if someone has it...
...how to treat it...
...prevention, organizations with helpful information...
...and key terms.
Yes, this should be good for a start.
Just as before, we have a list of subjects that might be useful for other searches.
What if we want to read an article later?
Health Reference Center provides us with some possibilities.
Have you ever printed out a website, only to have the text cut off?
Browser Print can help.
Not only does Browser Print reformat the article, it causes your print window to pop up.
To return to the database, click on your browser's "Back" button.
"Acrobat Reader" opens a window that shows the document in PDF, or Adobe Acrobat, format.
It's not here.
That's just embarrassing.
Database providers are people, too, and they make mistakes.
If this happens to you, contact the library. We'll do what we can to fix it.
Once again, we use the "Back" button to return.
You can also email a copy of the article to yourself.
Always pick a subject that you'll notice and remember.
The database won't tell you, but that email is on its way to your inbox.
Just so you know, you can also use the menu on the left to print or email your article.
That's all for now. Happy searching, and ask a librarian if you need help!