Oliver Wendell Holmes Library
De Humani

 

Medicine

and

American Culture

Fleming's Penicillium notatum


Teacher: Ms. Blitzer

Instructional Librarian: Mr. Blake

Summer Session 2006

Andreas Vesalius (courtesy of the National Library of Medicine)

Get Organized!

Gather Information

Use the Information

Take Time to Reflect

 

This guide provides an overview of information resources available at the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library. Selected medical print and electronic resources are provided. There are many more excellent sources.

The following steps will assist you in the research process.

Step 1: Get Organized

Think about what you are required to do. Click here for a copy of the assignment. Much of the class focuses on how the medical establishment practices their art, how the practice of medicine interacts with the culture, and how doctors, nurses, and physician assistants treat the ill. Attached is a class syllabus. Final projects are related to topics of choice as they relate to medicine and culture. Remember the steps of the research process. What do you want to write about? Do you need to refine your topic? What are some search terms or key words you may use in locating information for your topic?

Plan your time wisely. The Planning Assignments calculator will provide deadlines for long-term projects.

Step 2: Gather Information

Finding reference books for further information on your chosen disease. Medical books are in the 600's and biology books are in the 500's along the back wall of the Garver Reference Room, shelved according to the Dewey Decimal System. Materials about various aspects of American culture, social medicine, medical ethics, and bioethics can be found in the 100s and the 300s. Check with a librarian for specific topic help.

Better than well Healtcare Meltdown Our unsystematic health care system Voodoo science Sympathy and Science

Finding books:

NOBLE-OWL the library's online catalog, search by author, title, keyword, or Library of Congress subject heading. Materials located outside of Phillips Academy are not available to Summer Session students due to the time required for retrieval. Please note that the default is to search our collection. Please see a Librarian to get a pin number. Additional help is available in using the catalog.

Tip: Ask a Reference Librarian, stop by the reference desk (located outside the Garver Room) early and often during the research process for assistance.
Here are 3 examples of searching our NOBLE - OWL Catalog

 

Finding journal articles in fee based electronic databases:

Use the General Science Collection, Health Reference Center Academic, or Scientific American databases. Search by keyword or subject. Contains some full text articles. Make sure to get help from a reference librarian if you have any questions about searching the electronic resources.

EBSCO HOST Research Databases
A new set of database resources especially useful for your project. Includes Clinical Pharmacology, General Sciences Collection, Health Source - Consumer Edition, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, and MEDLINE.


HighWire
Access to over 600,000 full-text articles in the biological, medical, physical, and social sciences. Search both HighWire and Medline simultaneously from this link.


Finding Internet Web Sites:

    **Remember to evaluate web sites just as you evaluate books for authority and content.

  • CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a federal agency that provides information on health, disease prevention and control, environmental health and education.

  • Complete Home Medical Guide
    This Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons is very authoritative.
  • Merck Manual Home Edition
    This book uses everyday language to present information about diseases, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment
  • Meta Directory at Hardin Library
    From the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences at the University of Iowa, a list of lists in three categories--large, medium and small.
  • Librarians' Index to the Internet
    Enter search terms or choose from the directory listing of diseases and conditions.
  • Yahoo Health Directory
    A good place to begin. Enter search terms, or look through subject headings. Think about your search terms and refine your search with "and, or, not" or other limiting features.
  • NOBLE Resource Guide on HEALTH
    See what our consortium librarians recommend for resources in health.


    Ms. Blitzer's recommended sites
  • Bodyworlds
    Gunther von Hagen's new art of anatomy
  • Scrubs
    NBC's official website of the television series Scrubs.

    In addition, check the Selected Internet Resources for Health and Medicine reviewed by the librarians at the OWHL for quality and content.

Finding Current News:

Finding Poster Illustrations:

The Garver room and the book stacks contain printed works with great illustrations, charts, maps, and photographs.

Garver Room and Stacks Encyclopedia of the Life Sciences Ref 574 EN19
Animal Anatomy on File line drawings in a looseleaf notebook Ref 591.1 AN54
Human Body on File line drawings in a looseleaf notebook R 611 H88
Mapping Epidemics: A Historical Atlas of Disease Ref 614.4 H67m
CDC Public Health Image Library, Cells Alive University of Iowa's Hardin Library
Kimball's Online Biology Textbook
Google's Image Searcher
 
Map is from the Center for Disease Control
 

Step 3: Use the Information

Once you have decided what materials to read, Click Here for a site that will help you write a critical review of a journal/magazine article.

Synthesize the information, make an outline, take notes, organize the information, write the paper and document sources. Capture the information you will need for your bibliography the first time you use each source.
Use these handy forms for collecting all the data elements you will need. To help in the construction of your bibliography please use the MLA format. The Citation Machine website might be useful.
Make sure to avoid Plagiarism! Use this useful guide to quoting and paraphrasing sources.

Putting the Poster together:

There are several very good web sites that can help understand the parts of a poster, the critical attributes, and how to best design a good poster. Check out one or more of the following links.

George Mason University A Guide to Writing in the Biological Sciences The Poster Session
Colorado State Writing Center The Poster Session
American Society of Plant Biologists give advice on their poster sessions.
Never used PowerPoint? Click here for a brief tutorial from Florida Gulf Coast University.
Do you need an image for your PowerPoint? Make sure to document the image and don't use ones that have an active copyright statement. Many images can be had from Google images, Medical Pictures of the Hardin Library, or the digital librarian.


Step 4: Take time to Reflect

The paper is ready to be handed in. The bibliography is complete. Ask yourself: did you accomplish what you wanted to do? What else could I have done to guarantee a six? If you take the time to evaluate what you did you will become a better researcher.

 

Return to top of page



Questions or comments? Email OWHL Web Team at
© Phillips Academy 1999
Last Update July 2006