(310) 243-3715

CSUDH Library and Information Resources for

Health Care and Public Administration/Policy Prepared by:Caroline Bordinaro, Librarian cbordinaro@csudh.edu | 310-243-2084

Go to: Finding Books | Finding Magazines, Newspapers and Journals | Finding Websites | Library Guides

Concepts and questions for beginning research:

• Where to Start?
  • What's your research question?
  • What information do you need to find?
• Who cares about the same information? (e.g.: researchers, historians, government, etc.)
  • What kind of information do they need?
  • Where would they get it?
• What resource are you currently using? Why is it important to know?
  • Is there a better tool for the job?
  • Are you using it in the most efficient/effective way?
• Types of information available
  • Books
  • Articles from journals, magazines and newspapers
  • Websites
  • Newsletters
  • Reports
• Terms you need to know before searching for articles
  • DATABASE: An organized collection of information, especially electronic information.
  • ONLINE JOURNAL INDEX: A database that contains magazine, newspaper and journal articles e.g: Academic Search Premier
  • JOURNAL (also SCHOLARLY JOURNAL): Scholarly publication, articles usually reviewed by experts in the field before publication; published for an academic audience; narrow focus; deeply researched e.g.; American Journal of Psychology
  • MAGAZINE: Publication of general interest: popular interest and broad subjects (e.g: Psychology Today)
  • ABSTRACT: a brief summary of the main content of an article
  • FULL TEXT: the complete article. Click on the   button to see if the Full Text is available.
  • CITATION: the basic information you need to find the full text of an article. Includes
• Search Concepts
  • Boolean operators
    • 1. AND: Adidas AND marketing
      2. OR: Adidas OR Nike
      3. NOT: Adidas NOT shoes
  • Phrase searching"" ( "Nike Sportswear of America")
  • Advanced Search: Use this frequently to determine your search options. This will save you TIME and FRUSTRATION!
  • USE THE HELP SCREENS

BONUS!! Try our new SEARCH TUTORIAL and tell us how you liked it! Send comments to Jeff Broude, librarian at jbroude@csudh.edu.

Finding Books in the library

Go to TOROFIND: the CSUDH Library Catalog and search on the title, author, subject or keyword. Look not only for that specific call number, but also check out the books in that section. This is the best way to find older government documents and technical reports.

• If you don't see the right item listed, or want more titles, try an on a few keywords (in separate boxes).
• The item you want may not be a book. It may be some other kind of document, or it may be on microfilm.
• If you don't find what you need, ask a reference librarian.

Go to: Finding Websites | Library Guides

Magazine, journal and newspaper articles online

Online indexes must be accessed through the CSUDH library homepage (library.csudh.edu). Select Journal Articles & Electronic Resources; You may either browse by subject area or go to your favorite resource using the Alphabetical List.

NOTE: These are subscription online journal indexes, selected and provided specifically for CSUDH students. To access from home, please see our Remote Patron Access Instructions guide for login instructions.

Recommended journal indexes:

• PAIS International: indexes journal articles and research in the areas of public affairs, public and social policies and international relations
• Health Source: provides scholarly and peer-reviewed journals focusing on many medical disciplines, including nursing, allied health and pharmacology. Articles date back to 1975.
• CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature): provides access to journal articles in current nursing and allied health, including biomedicine, health sciences librarianship, alternative complementary medicine, and consumer health. Also includes health care books, nursing dissertations, selected conference proceedings, standards of practice, educational software, audiovisuals and book chapters, legal cases, clinical innovations, critical paths, drug records, research instruments and clinical trials. Articles date from 1982.
• America History & Life and Historical Abstracts: indexes journals on American and world history from 1450 to the present.
• Business & Economic Databases (ProQuest)*: search from a wide variety of journals, magazines, newsletters and other publications in the areas of business, marketing, management, advertising and economics.
• CQ Researcher: complete reports on controversial health related topics and federal legislation
• OxResearch: provides analytical articles covering world and regional economic and political developments of major significance compiled by an extensive international network of over 1,000 faculty members at Oxford and other leading universities around the world, as well as think-tanks and institutes of international standing.
• Wiley Interscience: search full-text journal articles in many areas of science. Searches may be combined between disciplines (Ex. business and biology)
• Social Sciences Full Text*: indexes publications and peer-reviewed research.
• SocINDEX*: offers coverage from all subdisciplines of sociology, including criminology, cultural sociology, demography, economic development, ethnic & racial studies, gender studies, politics, social psychology, social structure, urban studies, welfare, and others.
• PsycINFO: citations and summaries of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, all in psychology and related disciplines, dating as far back as the 1800s. 97 percent of the covered material is peer-reviewed. Also try PsycARTICLES and PsycEXTRA.
• Communication & Mass Media Complete: search citations, abstracts and articles in communication, media and related fields.
• Lexis-Nexis: 100% full-text newspapers, magazines and journal articles on a wide range of subjects. Choose News, Business or Medical for articles and research in these areas.  

Recommended general interest indexes:

• Academic Search Premier*: Our most popular general index. Many full-text articles. Easy search and retrieval. Many older articles.
• ProQuest Databases*: Excellent multi-subject index, with many full-text articles. Very easy to search.
• WilsonWeb: OmniFile Full-Text Mega*: Another multi-subject index. Lots of full-text.
• Britannica Online (use this link) : the online version of Encyclopedia Britannica. Search on your country.

*To limit search to peer-reviewed journals only, look for check box next to Peer-Reviewed, Scholarly Journals, or Academic Journals on database search screen (may be in Advanced Search)

Not sure how to search? Use our How To Find Articles help page for assistance.

Finding quality websites

These are indexes to quality web sites that have been reviewed by librarians. The sites have been checked for accuracy, timeliness, stability, and will generally conform to the standards of academic research. However, please be judicious in the use of websites in general, because anybody can put anything on the web.

• Infomine (infomine.ucr.edu): A project from the Univeristy of California and other universities, it is a searchable index of websites specifically appropriate for university research. Click on SocSci & Humanities to search their specialized index.
• Librarian's Index to the Internet (www.lii.org): Index of websites reviewed by librarians, geared toward the general public. Choose a topic from the index or use Advanced Search to search for keywords.
• CSUDH Nursing and Health Sciences Research Guide (library.csudh.edu/SubjectGuides/health.htm): Resource guide for journal indexes and Internet resources compiled by CSUDH librarians.
• Evaluating Information on the Web: This is a very good checklist from the Pasadena City College Library for judging the quality of not only information on the Internet, but any information you may want to use for an assignment.

For more detailed help, download our LIBRARY GUIDES (.doc format) :

• Finding journal articles using Academic Search Premiere (advanced search/retrieval methods, Interlibrary Loan)
• Accessing databases from off campus
• What is a Literature Review?
• Searching Google (advanced Internet search methods)
• OR click here to download ALL FOUR GUIDES with BONUS MATERIAL! (10pgs.)

Go to: Finding Books | Finding Magazines, Newspapers and Journals | Finding Websites

Created and adapted by C. Bordinaro, CSUDH librarian 07/11/2007