In the Exploration Assignments for this course, you will be exploring common diseases and their treatment approaches and prevention measures. We have put together several resources to help you research the diseases covered in these assignments.
GALE Virtual Reference Library
We recommend GALE Virtual Reference to be a part of your research. This database provides reference articles from encyclopedias and other reference sources. Great for overview and background information that is authoritative and reliable. This database supports all Rasmussen's courses, but is particularly good for health sciences/nursing and business.
You can also explore our Library Databases for other credible sources.
How do I know if a source is credible?
The sources in the Rasmussen library databases are credible. At some point in your career you may need to use other sources for research, and you should make sure those sources are credible. Click the link above to learn what makes a source credible.
In these assignments, you are asked to format a references page that lists your research sources. The APA Template shows you the proper format of this page. In addition, our library databases provide APA-formatted citations that you can use for your references page. To learn more, watch the two-minute video below.
Additional Tips for Your Success
The Student Success folder in the Structure and Function of the Human Body course contains other resources to help you achieve success in the course, including time management and test taking tips, writing resources, and guidance for seeking help from a tutor, mentor, or librarian. Be sure to visit that folder to take advantage of those resources.
Individual Research Appointments
If you run into problems conducting research for the Exploration assignments, you can set up a research appointment with the Health Sciences Librarian using the button below.
Flashcards are a fabulous way to test your knowledge and identify where you may need additional practice. For tips on how to create and effectively use flashcards, watch the quick 10-minute video below. For resources to create your own flashcards, click here or check out the links below the video.
Boolean Operators connect keywords or concepts logically to retrieve relevant articles, books, and other resources. There are three Boolean Operators:
Using AND
Example: The result list will include resources that include both keywords -- "distracted driving" and "texting" -- in the same article or resource, represented in the shaded area where the circles intersect (area shaded in purple).
Using OR
Example: The result list will include resources that include the keyword "texting" OR the keyword "cell phone" (entire area shaded in blue); either is acceptable.
Using NOT
Example: The result list will include all resources that includes the term "car" (green area) but will exclude any resource that includes the term "motorcycle" (purple area) even though the term car may be present in the resource.
A library database searches for keywords throughout the entire resource record including the full-text of the resource, subject headings, tags, bibliographic information, etc.
Keywords:
Example: The keyword list above was developed to find resources that discuss how texting while driving results in accidents. Notice that there are synonyms (texting and "text messaging"), related terms ("cell phones" and texting), and spelling variations ("cell phone" and cellphone). Using keywords when searching full-text requires consideration of various words that express an idea or concept.
Subject Headings
Example 1: In EBSCO's Academic Search Complete, clicking on the "Subject Terms" tab provides access to the entire subject heading list used in the database. It also allows a search for specific subject terms.
Example 2: A subject term can be incorporated into a keyword search by clicking on the down arrow next to "Select a Field" and selecting "Subject Terms" from the dropdown list. Also, notice how subject headings are listed below the title of the resource providing another strategy for discovering subject headings used in the database.
When a search term is more than one word, enclose the phrase in quotation marks to retrieve more precise and accurate results. Using quotation marks around a term will search it as a "chunk," searching for those particular words together in that order within the text of a resource.
Examples:
"cell phone"
"distracted driving"
"car accident"
TIP: In some databases, neglecting to enclose phrases in quotation marks will insert the AND Boolean connector between each word resulting in unintended search results.
Truncation provides an option to search for a root of a keyword in order to retrieve resources that include variations of that word. This feature can be used to broaden search results, although some results may not be relevant. To truncate a keyword, type an asterisk (*) following the root of the word.
For example:
Library databases provide a variety of tools to limit and refine search results. Limiters provide the ability to limit search results to resources having specified characteristics including:
In both the EBSCO and ProQuest databases, the limiting tools are located in the left panel of the results page.
EBSCO ProQuest
The short video below provides a demonstration of how to use limiters to refine a list of search results.
Each resource in a library database is stored in a record. In addition to the full-text of the resources, searchable Fields are attached that typically include:
Incorporating Fields into your search can assist in focusing and refining search results by limiting the results to those resources that include specific information in a particular field.
In both EBSCO and ProQuest databases, selecting the Advanced Search option will allow Fields to be included in a search.
For example, in the Advanced Search option in EBSCO's Academic Search Complete database, clicking on the down arrow next to "Select a Field" provides a list of fields that can be searched within that database. Select the field and enter the information in the text box to the left to use this feature.
Stop words are short, commonly used words--articles, prepositions, and pronouns-- that are automatically dropped from a search. Typical stop words include:
In library databases, a stop word will not be searched even if it is included in a phrase enclosed in quotation marks. In some instances, a word will be substituted for the stop word to allow for the other words in the phrase to be searched in proximity to one another within the text of the resource.
For example, if you searched company of America, your result list will include these variatons:
This short video demonstrates how to create a search string -- keywords connected with Boolean operators -- to use in a library database search to retrieve relevant resources for any research assignment.