Homework & Research->Homework Help->Science->Sample Research Topic
Question: I need information about Epidemics.
Resource Ideas
Okay, so this is a little broad. Don’t panic, this is what the library
is for! When starting a project such as this, think about narrowing
your topic to something that’s not so overwhelming. First, it’s
always good to start with the definition of your topic. So, before we narrow,
we’ll
define epidemic. The Random
House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary is an awesome old soldier
to your librarian. When in doubt, Random House is about.
Onward!
Epidemic (ep’I dem’ik) adj. A disease affecting many persons at the same time, and spreading from person to person in a locality where the disease is not permanently present.
There are other definitions, but we’ll stick with this one for now. So we’ve defined epidemic, next you need to come up with some epidemics.
Getting Started
A great place to start is the Tulsa City-County library’s catalog;
from here you can search the catalog by subject, keyword, title and
more. To get to books covering epidemics try using some of the following
terms as Subject searches. All of these books will go into specific epidemics.
Communicable
Diseases
Epidemic
Epidemiology
Infectious
Diseases
Plague
Public
Health
Virus
Okay, I’ve found some books I’m interested in. Do you have
any further hints or other places to go?
The library has reference books and circulating books. Any book record
in the library catalog reading LIBRARY USE ONLY means just that. Reference
books can be looked at in the library and we do have copy machines
available. Circulating books can check out. Please, please, please ask a
librarian at the Information Desk if you have problems finding anything!
We don’t
bite, I promise!
Useful Reference Books
If you need general information, try The
Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine or the exciting Human
Diseases and Conditions. These are both great sources covering descriptions,
causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and prevention.
Control of Communicable Diseases Manual: An Official Report of the American Public Health Association is grand resource for all the gory statistics on an epidemic. It’s comprehensive and includes information on Infectious Agents, Occurrences, Methods of Control, Disaster Implications, and International Measures.
There are also subject encyclopedias. For example, someone needing information on AIDS might consult the Encyclopedia of AIDS: A Social, Political, Cultural, and Scientific Record of the Epidemic. This provides almost everything you would want to know about AIDS including a resource guide, government documents, information centers, major organizations, and contacts.
To
find subject encyclopedias in the library catalog you should try a keyword
search using your epidemic and the word encyclopedia. For example, aids
encyclopedia. Notice in the records of this search a few books that have
nothing to do with AIDS the disease – you’re bound to get a few
false hits with keyword searches, but they’re still a good way to go!
Circulating Books
Isn’t there anything I can check out?
Why yes, of course! TCCL has a spiffy collection of epidemic books you can check out. Most of these can be found in the 614.4 area. We can also send books from one TCCL library to your local library.
Some especially cool epidemics books are:
The Burdens of Disease: Epidemics and Human Response in Western Culture
Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence
Man and Microbes: Diseases and Plagues in History and Modern Times
Government Documents Resources
I know the government puts out information and things like the CDC exist.
How do I access this stuff?
Another avenue to explore in our epidemics quest is the awesome world of government resources. TCCL has a fabulous government documents page filled with resources on many topics. Though we do have a lot of publications in print, most current information will be found via the web.
Take a look at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is a nice comprehensive one-stop shop for information on current epidemics and disease outbreaks – be sure to check out In the News and Data and Statistics sections. Other sites to surf are the National Institute of Health, United States Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Library of Medicine.
Online Databases
Where can I find journal articles and stuff along
those lines?
Your library not only has great print stuff, but we also have some pretty cool searchable databases you can access from home and the library. Databases provide scads of information in one easy-to-access place, your computer. They aren’t websites, but information storing tanks taken from journals, professional publishers of certain types of information, and other reputable sources. These can be your friends.
For current information and journal article stuff, try Academic Search Elite and Health Source: Consumer Edition. For more focused hardcore information, try Applied Science and Technology on for size.
Other online databases you should check out for epidemics research are Topic Search and CQ Researcher. Both are terrific resources for students and are full text!
Going On the Web
What about online sources? Are there any good, reputable
Web sites my teacher won’t freak out over?
Of course, in this technological age, there are a lot of great Web sites out there from reputable organizations and agencies. But, also keep in mind that not all websites are reliable. This is just a friendly reminder for when you’re evaluating a website to be careful. Sponsors such as universities, libraries, research institutions, government, and museums are usually great places to start. Some of my phat favorites are:
American
Museum of Natural History
This is a rockin’ interactive online exhibition into the world of
epidemics.
Center for Infectious
Disease Research and Policy
Sponsored by the University of Minnesota, this link will take you to
hot topic information on infectious diseases, bioterrorism resources, and
biosecurity.
NIAID
Biodefense
This stuff just isn’t for the movies or E.R. Use this site to read
through Plague information fact sheets and find out what’s going in
the world of biodefense.
Is it Over Yet?
YES, YES! Now, you can start working on your paper. Just a few things to remember…
If TCCL doesn’t have books and other materials you need for your paper you can Interlibrary Loan them, which means we borrow them from another library system for you. If you choose to do this, request the materials as soon as possible because it sometimes takes several weeks for them to come in.
Once you have all materials for your paper, it’s time to start writing. If you need some help the library has many writing manuals; the Primary Source Page lists a few of them and there are several Writing pathfinders you might find useful as well.
If you have any questions, contact your local library or ask a librarian!