IB 119: Evaluating Scientific Evidence in Medicine

• Finding Articles
• Finding Books
• Selected Web Sites
• Managing Your References/Evaluating Your Sources

Finding Articles

Search article databases to find articles from journals and magazines, papers presented at conferences, and other sources.

To access full text, use the button. (What's this?)

Links to more resources: Databases for Life Sciences Research.

Connecting from off-campus: proxy server setup instructions.

Core Biomedical Article Databases	Years Covered	Peer-reviewed Content?
BIOSIS Previews The most comprehensive biological sciences article database; indexes over 6000 peer-reviewed journals. (Guide: HTML | PDF)	1926-present	Most
CABI: CAB Abstracts and Global Health Covers topics such as biomedicine, nutrition and food safety, public health, and toxicology. Indexes sources from more than 100 countries. (Guide: CABI Help)	1910-present	Most
Cochrane Library Evidence-based effects, economic evaluations and technology assessment for health care. Includes the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. (Guide: Cochrane Library Search Manual)	1946-present	Most
Embase Embase is a primary biomedical resource for conducting systematic reviews and researching evidence-based medicine. Coverage includes more than 2000 journals not indexed in Medline. (Guide: Embase Help)	1946-present	Most
Google Scholar Searches scholarly literature across many disciplines. A list of the journals and other sources included in Google Scholar has not been made publicly available. (Guide: Google Scholar Help)	Unknown	Some
PubMed The National Library of Medicine's premier bibliographic database, indexing articles from more than 4500 journals in biology and biomedicine. Includes Systematic Reviews search limit. (Guide: HTML | PDF)	1946-present	Most

Finding Books

Use a library catalog such as OskiCat or Melvyl to find books, journals, magazines, government reports, maps, and other materials owned by the UCB libraries.

The Electronic Books page has links to Google Books, Open Library, and other electronic book resources categorized by subject.

Resource	Coverage	Unique Features
OskiCat OskiCat Quick Guide (PDF)	Most UCB libraries (more information)	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.
Melvyl Melvyl Guide	Most UCB libraries and many libraries worldwide, plus citations to selected articles (more information)	Search libraries worldwide Request items UCB doesn't own Create and save lists and add tags to items Automatically format citations
Electronic Books	Links to Google Books, Open Library, and other electronic book resources categorized by subject.	Search the full text of relevant materials Full text may be available online

Selected Web Sites

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• FDA Medical Devices: Product and procedure descriptions, recalls and alerts [US Food & Drug Administration]
• FDA MedWatch: Safety information and adverse event reporting for medical products [US Food & Drug Administration]
• Medline Plus: Consumer information on health topics, drugs and supplements, plus a medical dictionary [US National Institutes of Heath]

Managing Your References and Evaluating Your Sources

• Critical Appraisal of a Journal Article. University College London Institute of Child Health Library, 2011.
• Critical Appraisal of Scientific Articles. du Prel JB, Röhrig B, Blettner M. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2009 February; 106(7): 100–105.
• Citing Your Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism [UC Berkeley Libraries] Quick guides to APA, MLA, and Chicago-Turabian styles.
• RefWorks The UCB Libraries have purchased a site license to RefWorks. Sign up for a free account, and manage your references and format bibliographies with just a few clicks. (Tutorials and Guides)