Finding books * Finding articles * Finding facts Need a print version of this guide? Select "Print This Page" in the gold navigation bar above to reformat, then print.
If you have any difficulty locating what you need, you can contact a reference librarian by telephone at 885-1772, via email, or by coming into the library during reference service hours.
The library subscribes to many Web-based databases for use by OIT students, staff, and faculty. Access to these databases is limited to users connected to the Web from an OIT computer. If you are using a non-OIT Internet Service Provider (such as AOL, CDSNET, CVC, etc.) you will need to use your OIT email username and password to access the databases from off-campus.
Check the library's Interlibrary Loan (ILL) webpage for information on getting loans of books or copies of articles from other libraries.
Finding Books - catalogs See Tips for using catalog databases
Books can often provide a good overview of or introduction to a topic. They also can provide valuable historical information or thoughtful criticism and discussion.
Use Hedgehog to locate books and journals in the OIT Library. Hedgehog is a Web database containing records for items in the library's collection. OIT purchases books and colorjournals on health sciences from many publishers. The library also receives federal and state government documents relating to aspects of health sciences, particularly those from the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
Use Summit to locate books at other academic libraries in the Northwest. Orbis lets you request books online, when they are available, and have them delivered by courier to the OIT Library, usually within two working days. Use World Cat to locate books, government documents, CDs, videos, and other items at libraries across North America and elsewhere in the world. A  symbol appearing next to a reference retrieved by a search indicates that the OIT Library owns the item. If the book is not at OIT, students, staff, and faculty can make an online ILL (interlibrary loan) request. Books are usually sent to the OIT Library via U.S. mail so may take a week or more to arrive.
Finding Articles See Tips for searching electronic databases.
Journal articles are the primary means of formal communication among health professionals. Indexes are Web databases containing references to specific journal articles. These databases are produced by several different companies and have different search software, so remember to check the help screens to find out how to do the most effective search. The following indexes contain significant numbers of references on health-related subjects:
MEDLINE via EbscoHost MEDLINE via FirstSearch
Includes thousands of records with substantial abstracts that cover all areas of medicine, including dentistry and nursing, from 1965 present
CINAHL and Pre-CINAHL
CINAHL with Full Text provides indexing for 2,737 journals from the fields of nursing and allied health. The database contains more than 1,000,000 records dating back to 1982. Offering complete coverage of English-language nursing journals and publications from the National League for Nursing and the American Nurses' Association, CINAHL with Full Text covers nursing, biomedicine, health sciences librarianship, alternative/complementary medicine, consumer health and 17 allied health disciplines. In addition, this database offers access to health care books, nursing dissertations, selected conference proceedings, standards of practice, educational software, audiovisuals and book chapters. Searchable cited references for more than 1,150 journals are also included. CINAHL with Full Text provides full text for 329 journals, plus legal cases, clinical innovations, critical paths, drug records, research instruments and clinical trials. PDF backfiles to 1982 are also included.
Pre-CINAHL is a companion database to CINAHL. Pre-CINAHL provides information on new journal articles, and includes a rotating file of limited bibliographic information (no subject searching), which is available to researchers only for the time when these articles are being assigned additional indexing. Once the bibliographic records are complete, they are added to the CINAHL database and removed from Pre-CINAHL.
Health Source - Consumer Edition
Provides full-text access to nearly 300 consumer health periodicals. In addition to full text, indexing and abstracts are provided for more than 300 periodicals. This database covers topics such as AIDS, cancer, diabetes, drugs and alcohol, aging, fitness, nutrition and dietetics, children's health, and women's health. Full text dates back as far as 1985.
Health Source: Nursing / Academic Edition
Provides full-text access to more than 550 scholarly journals, including more than 450 peer-reviewed journals focusing on many medical disciplines. Also featured are abstracts and indexing for more than 800 journals. Coverage of nursing and allied health is particularly strong. Full text dates back as far as 1975.
PubMed Central
Includes full text from selected life sciences journals. This is a free digital archive offered by the U.S. National Library of Medicine. More databases on Health and Medicine
Finding facts - reference resources
See also Tips for using reference sources and Reference database information The library reference area has books with addresses, definitions, data tables and other factual information. Some reference books you may find useful include:
REF QP141 .R93. THE NUTRITION AND HEALTH DICTIONARY.
REF R118.4.U6 D48. DETWILER'S DIRECTORY OF HEALTH AND MEDICAL RESOURCES.
REF R118.4.U6 H434 1993. HEALTHCARE RESOURCE AND REFERENCE GUIDE
REF R121 .I55. CHURCHILL'S ILLUSTRATED MEDICAL DICTIONARY.
REF R121 .M65. ENCYCLOPEDIA & DICTIONARY OF MEDICINE, NURSING, & ALLIED HEALTH
REF R121 .M89. MOSBY'S MEDICAL, NURSING, & ALLIED HEALTH DICTIONARY
REF R123 .J24. DICTIONARY OF MEDICAL ACRONYMS & ABBREVIATIONS.
REF RA447.O7 O67. OREGON HEALTH TRENDS.
REF RB37 .P24. MOSBY'S DIAGNOSTIC AND LABORATORY TEST REFERENCE.
REF RC71.3 .M45. MEDICAL TESTS SOURCEBOOK : BASIC CONSUMER HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT MEDICAL TESTS
REF RC81.A2 A52. THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MEDICINE
REF RJ51.L3 P455. PEDIATRIC REFERENCE RANGES
REF RM170 .G33. INTRAVENOUS MEDICATIONS : A HANDBOOK FOR NURSES AND ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
REF RM301.12 .D44. DAVIS'S DRUG GUIDE FOR NURSES
REF RT21 .M33. MCGRAW-HILL NURSING DICTIONARY.
REF RT24 .B69. WRITER'S GUIDE TO NURSING AND ALLIED HEALTH JOURNALS
REF RT34 .A44. AMERICAN NURSING : A BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY
REF RT79 .O33. OFFICIAL GUIDE TO GRADUATE NURSING SCHOOLS
REF RT79 .P48. PETERSON'S GUIDE TO NURSING PROGRAMS.
REF RT79 .R76. RSP FUNDING FOR NURSING STUDENTS AND NURSES
REF RT79 .S3652. SCHOLARSHIPS AND LOANS FOR NURSING EDUCATION.
REF RT81.5 .S82. LIBRARY RESEARCH GUIDE TO NURSING : [ILLUSTRATED SEARCH STRATEGY AND SOURCES]
REF RT82 .A312. AJN CAREER GUIDE.
REF RT82 .N86. NURSING CAREER DIRECTORY.
Finding Web sites See also Tips for using Web search engines
Besides using one of the many Web search engines (some good ones are available as links from the librarys Web search engines page), there are other ways to identify higher-quality websites on your topic.
Use the Internet Scout Report Archives to identify sites screened for quality and cataloged as part of the Internet Scout Project.
These are some sites providing search capability or links with information on nursing:
American Nurses Association
National League for Nursing
Oregon State Board of Nursing
National Student Nurses Association
The Student Nurse Information Center
The Virtual Nursing Center
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