ESPM 167: ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Finding Books
Use a library catalog to find books, journals, magazines, government reports, maps, and other materials owned by the UCB libraries. You can also follow the links on our Electronic Books page, which will take you to Google Books, Open Library, and other electronic book resources categorized by subject. Library catalogs usually do not index the individual articles within magazines and journals.
| Resource |
Coverage |
Unique Features |
OskiCat
OskiCat Quick Guide (PDF)
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Most UCB libraries
(more information)
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- Renew your books online
- Find course reserves
- Request checked out or offsite items
- Restrict your search to a specific library, online items, or available items only.
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Melvyl
Melvyl Guide
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Most UCB libraries and many libraries worldwide, plus citations to selected articles
(more information)
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- Search libraries worldwide
- Request items UCB doesn't own
- Create and save lists and add tags to items
- Automatically format citations
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Electronic Books
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Links to Google Books, Open Library, and other electronic book resources categorized by subject.
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- Search the full text of relevant materials
- Full text may be available online
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Recommended reference books on toxicology include:
- Clinical toxicology of commercial products, 5th ed. Robert E. Gosselin. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins, 1984.
UCB Public Health Library: RA 1211.C586 1984, Reserve*
UCB Chemistry Library: RA 1211.C586 1984, Reference
- A consumer’s dictionary of household, yard, and office chemicals. Ruth Winter. New York: Crown Publishers, 1992.
UCB Public Health Library: RA 770.5.W56 1992, Reserve*
- Encyclopedia of clinical toxicology. Irving S. Rossoff. Boca Raton, FL: Parthenon Pub. Group, 2002.
UCB Public Health Library: RA1193.R67 2002, Reserve*
*Note: The Public Health Library is scheduled to be closed September 13 - October 7, 2007. Reserve material will be available at the Education-Psychology Library in Tolman Hall, at the Circulation Desk.
Finding Articles: PubMed
Search article databases to find journal, magazine, and newspaper articles. These databases index articles published in selected journals and magazines, papers presented at conferences, and other sources. Most records include citations and abstracts with links to the full text of articles (when available). To access the full text, use the 
button.
PUBMED (http://uclibs.org/PID/17708) 1947 - present
The major database for articles published in medical journals. Use the URL above to see a customized version of PubMed that includes links to the University of California’s full text holdings. PubMed also provides access to PubMed Bookshelf, a collection of full-text, electronic versions of major medical textbooks and reference books.
(Guide: HTML | PDF)
More PubMed help:
- Combining search terms with Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT)
- Searching by subject headings using the MeSH Database: MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) is the National Library of Medicine's system of indexing terms. Use MeSH to build more precise searches.
- MeSH Qualifiers (Subheadings): Using subheadings with MeSH terms will narrow and focus your search results. Here are some subheadings which might be useful for this class:
| Subheading |
Examples
(MeSH term + subheading) |
| epidemiology |
Poliomyelitis/epidemiology
Sudan/epidemiology |
| prevention and control |
Asthma/prevention and control |
| adverse effects |
Flame retardants/adverse effects |
| toxicity |
Polybrominated biphenyls/toxicity |
- Filter your searches: Use Filters to limit your search by language, age group, publication type, publication date, and more. Note that Filters stay in effect until they are un-checked.
Tips for Finding Relevant MeSH Terms:
If your term or concept won't "map" to a MeSH term, try the following:
- Search for your term in the title field: yourterm[ti]. If the word is in the article title, a relevant MeSH term should be listed in the "Citation" display. Try this with several articles to get a list of likely MeSH terms.
- Also use British spellings of title words, if necessary.
- You can expand your title search to include words in the title and/or abstract: yourterm[tiab].
- When you find possible MeSH terms to use, look them up in the MeSH Browser. See where they appear on the Tree. Use broader or narrower terms, as seen on the Tree, if appropriate.
- If you have already found one great article on your topic, look up your article in PubMed (use Single Citation Matcher), and check to see which MeSH terms are used to index the article. Use those terms to search for other articles on the same topic.
- Remember the difference between the infection and the agent/organism causing it. For example, are you interested in HIV or HIV infections? Similarly, don't confuse a symptom with a disease:
- Depression vs. Depressive Disorder
And don't confuse a medical specialty with a disease, condition, or intervention:
- Preventive Medicine vs. Preventive Health Services; Pulmonary Medicine vs. Lung Diseases
- Similarly, the MeSH heading "Epidemiology" is applied to articles focusing on epidemiology as a field of study. To restrict your search to the epidemiology of a specific disease or condition, use the MeSH term for the disease, followed by the subheading "epidemiology."
- Example: type asthma/epidemiology into PubMed's search box to find articles on the epidemiology of asthma.
- Drugs and substances (chemicals) can be classified under several different broader headings or classes. When you find a drug or substance in MeSH, it is important to look at where it appears on the Tree(s). You may need to broaden or narrow your search to get the best article citations for your topic. For example, are you interested in DDT, or all chlorinated hydrocarbons? Items listed as a substance may also have relevant MeSH terms.
- Example: ddt[mesh] OR alpha-chloro-DDT [Substance Name] OR DDT-dehydrochlorinase [Substance Name], etc.
Finding Articles: Other Article Databases
See the "Development Studies" research guide from the UCB Library for further information and more resources.
ECONLIT 1969 - present
The most comprehensive index to scholarly journal articles in economics; also lists book chapters and dissertations. Most citations include a searchable abstract. Some full text is included.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES AND POLLUTION MANAGEMENT 1981 - present
All aspects of environmental issues; indexes articles, books, web sites, governmental reports, and conference proceedings.
GEOGRAPHY 1990 - present
Indexes over 2000 journals, monographs, books, conference proceedings, and theses covering the international literature in physical and human geography, as well as international development issues.
INTERNATIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES 1981 - present
Indexes over 3000 journals, books, chapters, and book reviews in the fields of economics, political science, sociology, and anthropology from more than 100 countries. Some full text is included.
Electronic Books (UCB-only access)
Chemical Information Resources
- Hazardous Substances Data Bank (National Library of Medicine)
Comprehensive, peer-reviewed toxicology data for about 5,000 chemicals. Includes data on human exposure, industrial hygiene, emergency handling procedures, environmental fate, regulatory requirements, properties, laboratory methods, and more. HSDB is designed to help answer the following typical questions:
- "What are the chemical ingredients and their percentage in specific brands?"
- "Which products contain specific chemical ingredients?"
- "Who manufactures a specific brand? How do I contact this manufacturer?"
- "What are the acute and chronic effects of chemical ingredients in a specific brand?"
- "What other information is available about chemicals in the toxicology-related databases of the National Library of Medicine?"
- Household Products Database (National Library of Medicine)
Links over 7,000 consumer brands to health effects, using MSDS information; allows scientists and consumers to research products based on chemical ingredients.
- MSDS Resources on the Internet
A few web sources of MSDS information, from the University of California Office of the President. Try searching by chemical name, product name, and/or CAS number.
- Scorecard (Environmental Defense Fund)
Provides easy access to the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data. Profiles more than 11,000 chemicals, including all the chemicals used in large amounts in the United States and all the chemicals regulated under major environmental laws.
- TOXLINE (National Library of Medicine)
Indexes the toxicological literature; focuses on the biochemical, pharmacological, physiological, and toxicological effects of drugs and other chemicals.
Suggested Web Sites
Managing Your References and Evaluating Your Sources
Copyright © 2013 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Comment Form. Last update:
09/26/12
