Starting Points for Nutrition Research at Stapleton Library

Getting Started
Formulating a search strategy-- regardless of what subject a researcher is investigating,
taking time to develop a search strategy is the best way to begin research.

• Formulating the search strategy
• Help on formulating queries

Monographic Sources

• The Libraries' book collection includes works that offer comprehensive treatments of nutrition related issues. Use PILOT, our online catalog to find books in our collection as well as links to the full-text of electronic reserve items and other valuable information on the Internet.
• Modern libraries find it difficult to own everything in their local collections that their users need and have formed borrowing networks to share materials.  PALCI (Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium, Inc.) is cooperative borrowing network that allows users to access a web gateway which allows simultaneous searching of academic library catalogs in Pennsylvania. Many items found in PALCI can be directly requested by authorized users from participating institutions. We urge our users to search PALCI first, and directly borrow desired items using their 16 digit I-Card number.
• WorldCat is a huge database of records for millions of books and internet materials. It is an excellent place to look for bibliographic information on materials not owned by our libraries. To borrow materials cited in WorldCat and not owned by our library , use the electronic ILLIAD There is no cost for this service and no limit on the number of items you can borrow.

• Encyclopedia of Human Nutrition [REF] QP 141. E526 1999
• Encyclopedia of Food Science and Technology [REF] TX349.E47 1993
• Gray's Anatomy, [REF] QM23.2 .G73 1985
• Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, [REF] RC46 .H333 1994
• Mosby's Medical, Nursing, and Allied Health Directory, [REF] R121 .M89 1998
• Physicians' Desk Reference (PDR), [REF] RS75 .P 1998
• Physicians' Desk Reference - Nonprescription Drugs, [REF] RM671 .A1 P48
• Wellness Encyclopedia, [REF] RA776 .W436 991

Electronic Reference Sources

• MEDLINEplus Health Information --contains information on health topics, generic and brand-name drug information, spelling and definitions of medical terms, directories of doctors and healthcareproviders, consumer health information, and more.
• Merck Manual - 17th Edition --The Merck Manual provides extensive coverage of the medical field, focusing on diseases and disorders, including discussion of treatments and drug uses and therapies.

• Academic Search Premier --academic multi-disciplinary database, Academic Search Premier provides full text for more than 4,000 scholarly publications, including full text for more than 3,100 peer-reviewed journals. Coverage spans virtually every area of academic study and offers information dating as far back as 1975.
•  InfoTrac OneFile  --From arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology, this database meets research needs across all academic disciplines. Access scholarly journals, news magazines, and newspapers - many with full text and images!
• Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition -- provides full text for over 255 health periodicals, over 1,065 health pamphlets, and 23 health reference books. This database is updated daily.

• CINAHL with Full Text--- database designed specifically to meet the informational needs of nurses and allied health professionals. It is the equivalent to Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature.
• ProQuest Digital Dissertations-- Dissertation Abstracts and full text for all digital dissertations from 1997 to present. The database includes bibliographic citations for materials ranging from the first U.S. dissertation, accepted in 1861, to those accepted as recently as last semester.
• Medline -- National Library of Medicine's database which combines the paper indexes Index Medicus, International Nursing Index, and Index to Dental Literature. (To find entire journal name for medline abbreviation, go to Entrez Pubmed and choose Journals Database. )
• Biological Abstracts-- leading indexing and abstracting reference source for life sciences information covering journal literature published in over 70 countries. Interface: Coverage: 1998-present.
• MedScape-- For health professionals and interested consumers, features peer-reviewed articles, "zoom-able" color graphics, self-assessment features, medical news, Medline Reviews, and annotated links to Internet resources.
• PubMed-- is a project developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the National Library of Medicine (NLM), located at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It has been developed in conjunction with publishers of biomedical literature as a search tool for accessing literature citations and linking to full-text journals at Web sites of participating publishers.

Indexes, Abstracts, and Bibliographies--Paper
Some comprehensive indexes are still available only in paper. Here a few:

• Biological and Agricultural Index [INDEX] QH301 B56
• Food Science and Technology Abstracts [INDEX] TP368. F678
• Nutrition Abstracts and Reviews  [INDEX] QP141. A1N86

Searching for Specific Journal Titles
Bibliographic indexes and other bibliographical references often  provide you with a list of relevant citations to materials that may or not be found in this Library.

• To determine this Library's paper, microform, and electronic holdings, search in our PILOT,  under Journal Title, and the years and volumes owned will be displayed.
• Use JAKE--to determine if a journal is available in full-text from one of our electronic journal collections or to determine where it is indexed.

• Marcive WebDocs -- database corresponding to the printed Monthly Catalog which contains approximately 50 percent of the published government documents (others being classified or for in-house use only). Citations from the annual Periodicals Supplement and the US Congressional Serial Set Supplement are also included.
• Firstgov---the first-ever government web site to provide the public with easy, one-stop access to all online U.S. Federal Government resources.
• Google Uncle Sam--google search of only government information sources.
•  Nutrition.gov--a new federal resource that provides easy access to all online federal government information on nutrition including information on  healthy eating, physical activity, and food safety.

Directories
 

• Nutrition Navigator - Tufts University - An excellent example of a specialized directory. It's a searchable and browsable database of evaluated and categorized nutrition-related Web sites. Each indexed site has been carefully evaluated by a nutritionist and rated numerically in various categories. The site reviews contain brief descriptions and discuss such things as bias and background. Browsing categories include: Educators, Kids, Parents, Health Professionals, Special Dietary Needs, and Women, and are arranged in order of rating. From the Tufts University School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
• American Dietetic Association At this searchable site, you can find nutrition and diet information; locate a registered dietitian in your area; follow legislation related to food, health, and nutrition policies; and link to numerous related sites, listed by category.
• InteliHealth - Johns Hopkins Health - The major content of this comprehensive health site is in the Health Library, which contains the Johns Hopkins Encyclopedia: including Adult Health (the heart of this A - Z encyclopedia), Pediatrics, Allergy, Nutrition, Fitness, and more; Ask-the-Doc: searchable answers to thousands of questions; Medications: a drug database - the U.S. Pharmacopeia, including (when available) educational leaflets, photographs of pills, and information from medicine charts that show dosage variations; and even more information from the National Institutes of Health and the National Health Council.
• MEDLINEplus- This directory site is designed to lead the user to resources containing information that will help with researching their health questions. It includes information from MEDLINE, links to self-help groups, medical dictionaries, directories of doctors and hospitals, access to National Institute of Health consumer-related organizations, clearinghouses, health-related organizations, and a search databases section with dozens of databases on topics such as clinical trials, nutrition, AIDS, cancer, etc.
• IUP Food and Nutrition Department

 
Free Databases

• AGRICOLA: Agricultural Online Access -  A database of bibliographic records created by the National Agricultural Library (NAL) and its cooperators, it covers materials dating from the 16th century to the present. The records describe publications and resources encompassing all aspects of agriculture and allied disciplines, including plant and animal sciences, forestry, entomology, soil and water resources, agricultural economics, agricultural engineering, agricultural products, alternative farming practices, food and nutrition, agricultural trade and marketing, rural information, and animal welfare. AGRICOLA does not contain the materials themselves; but it can help you identify and find them.
• Clinical Pharmacology 2000 - This database has information on prescription and over-the-counter drugs, herbs, and nutritional supplements. It includes new and investigational drugs. Entries cover use, interactions, dosage, adverse effects, and off-label uses. Patient information is available for printing in both English and Spanish. Users may also create and store personal medication records. Requires free registration.
• MedScape -- For health professionals and interested consumers, features peer-reviewed articles, "zoomable" color graphics, self-assessment features, medical news, Medline Reviews, and annotated links to Internet resources.
• Nutrient Database (USDA)This searchable database reports the nutrient values for approximately 5,900 foods.
• Nutrition Analysis Tool 2.0 - An excellent tool for keeping track of your diet or looking up nutrition information on almost any food item, including fast foods and foods by brand name. You can create a personalized nutritional analysis by entering your food and amounts, and gender and age. You then select which factors (calories, fats, vitamins, etc.) you want analyzed. The results are available either HTML table or printable text format. In addition, the advanced function will suggest foods appropriate to balancing your diet.
• PubMed-- PubMed is a project developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the National Library of Medicine (NLM), located at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It has been developed in conjunction with publishers of biomedical literature as a search tool for accessing literature citations and linking to full-text journals at Web sites of participating publishers.

General search engines

• Infopeople Best Search Tools
• Google
• Hotbot
• Altavista

Citation Styles

• University of California at Berkeley
• WriteNote - web-based bibliographic management system allows users to create bibliographic databases with notes and instantly create notes and bibliographies within Microsoft word. Available on-campus or off-campus with VPN set-up.  Click here for users' manual.
• EndNote -- world's most popular bibliographic software allows users to create searchable bibliographic databases with notes,   draw bibliographic information from online catalogs and periodical databases, and create within Microsoft Word instant  bibliographic references and bibliographies in any style.   Students can pick up copies of EndNote software with I-card at
  
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