This guide is your introduction to the resources at Auraria
Library. It points to the best tools to find books and journal
articles on your topic. Keep in mind that the reference
librarians are here to help. If you can't find what you
need, just ask for help!!
Getting started - the research
topic
To reduce frustration:
- focus on a specific topic.
- if you pick a particular ailment, make sure that most
of your paper is devoted to herbal remedies this condition.
- find a subject that has been sufficiently researched.
Remember that you must use at least five scholarly journal
articles to support your statements.
- make good use of the many resources at the Auraria
Library, both books and internet links.
You can start by searching Skyline for subject
encyclopedias.
Quick help
| To
find: |
Look
in: |
| |
| Books/e-books/links
to journals in or available through the Auraria Library |
Skyline |
| Where &
in what form articles from a specific journal are available |
Journal finder in Skyline |
| What database
indexes a journal in my topic |
Gold
Rush |
| What databases
include articles on my topic |
Library
subject guides |
| Where are
the articles most likely to be available full text online |
Gold
Rush |
| Books/e-books/links
to journals in other major Front Range libraries |
Prospector |
| Books/e-books/journal
titles in libraries worldwide, including your local
university or college library |
WorldCat |
Background info on your
topic
Reference books such as specialized encyclopedias and
dictionaries are great for finding out just what you need
to support your thesis or collect background material for
your research. You can search Skyline
using your term and combine it with terms like encyclopedias
or handbooks to pull up specialized encyclopedias (example:
alternative
medicine and encyclopedias). This also applies to "dictionaries"
and "video". To get more results try using Boolean logic to combine terms (example: (integ* or altern* or herb* or plant*) medicin* (encyclop* or handbooks)).
- The Gale encyclopedia of alternative medicine. Kristine
Krapp and Jacqueline L. Longe, editors. Detroit : Gale
Group, c2001. REF R733 .G34 2001
-
Concise handbook of psychoactive herbs : medicinal herbs for treating psychological and neurological problems. Marcelo Spinella. New York : Haworth Herbal Press, c2005. RM315 .S655 2005
- Integrative medicine. David Rakel, editor. Philadelphia, PA : Saunders Elsevier, c2007. R733 .I5755 2007
- Understanding medicinal plants : their chemistry and therapeutic action. Bryon Hanson. New York : Haworth Herbal Press, c2005. RS164 .H276 2005
- The
American Heritage® Dictionary, 4th Edition, or
in the Library at REF PE1628 .A6227 2002
- InfoPlease.com,
at the Desk Reference in the Library at REF HF5003
.I5
- Bartleby.com a stellar collection of general reference books online.
Some of these general references will help you learn the
vocabulary of your subject. For example these are all terms
used in the literature to discuss botanical medicine: medicinal
plants, medical botany, ethnobotany, materia medica, pharmacognosy,
pharmacology, traditional medicine, phytotherapy, phytochemistry,
holistic, alternative medicine, complementary medicine and
so on. Find out the difference between them and whether
a search on any of these will get you closer to what your goal.
Auraria Library's Online
Resources and Databases
Article Databases and Indexes
Once you have background information on your topic
you can search for articles that relate more directly to
your area of interest. You do this using online databases
or indexes found at the Library. Many of these databases
provide the full text of the article while some databases
display a link to library holdings (Skyline)
or a link to search for the full text of the article online
(GRLinker aka Gold
Rush).
Finding articles that are not
full text online Many scholarly journal articles
are not full text online. Others may be available full text,
but not through the database you are using. Use Gold Rush
and Skyline to determine availability of the article (example:
the International Journal of Plant Sciences' Skyline record
has links to databases where there is some full text, indicates
that we receive it in paper and that the older issues, 1992-2003,
are on microfiche here). Some journals are only available
in the Library, some only online. Those in the Library are
on the first floor in the Periodicals area.
- Goldrush
- provides links to databases that index or have full
text of the journal.
- Periodical Title search in Skyline -
local journal holdings and online links if available.
- Interlibrary loan - If
the library does not have access to the article, use InterLibrary Loan (ILL) to request a copy. The article will
be mailed to you.
Some specifics
- Identify the title of the journal. Be sure not
to confuse this with the title of the article.
- Search Skyline
by Periodical Title (see the left column of the Library
homepage). If Auraria Library has the journal, a record
will appear that shows complete information (status, location,
call number, format). If we don't have it, go to the next
step.
- Search Gold
Rush by 'Journal Title'. If Auraria Library owns a
database that has full text from the journal, a record
will appear that shows complete information (database
name and a link to the database). If we don't have it,
go to the next step.
- Request the article through interlibrary loan form (ILLiad).
This works really well, they mail you the article for
free to your home. The downside is that it might take
a week or two. So, give yourself time. If you don't have
the time, go to Prospector and determine which library,
if any, owns the journal locally. You can go to that library
and make a copy of that article. Remember there are two
excellent special collections in Denver that cover alternative
medicine.
eBooks Electronic
books that you can read on your computer. Find eBooks owned
by Auraria Library by using Skyline.
(To read NetLibrary books from off-campus: sign up for
a NetLibrary account from anywhere on campus. If you live
outside the Metro area email the distance education librarian: distance at auraria dot edu.) Use the eBooks
subject guide to locate other sources of eBooks. Here are
a few relevant eBooks found through Skyline (available in
NetLibrary).
Non-Auraria Library Resources
If you start your research with non-Library resources (like
the internet or other libraries) you may become frustrated
because you can't access the whole article, or be allowed
to check out the book. So when you find a resource somewhere
other than through the Library, try to locate it through
us before you buy it or give up. (See Finding
... ) It could be at Auraria Library (Skyline),
in one of our proprietary databases (Gold
Rush), in a local library from which we can easily borrow
it for you (Prospector),
or in some other U.S. library from which we can borrow it
for you (interlibrary loan
and WorldCat).
In any library Look
for information on holistic medicine in your local university,
special or public library. Try browsing in the following
sections of the library.
- GN296 (anthropological medicine)
- QK99 (herbal medicine)
- R733 (alternative medicine)
- RS164 (folk or traditional medicine)
Local Denver Resources
There are two libraries in Denver that have good collections
in alternative and herbal medicine. You may use either one
for a membership fee.
- Denver Botanic Gardens Helen
Fowler Library (909 York Street, Denver CO
80206, phone: 720-865-3570 ) - A large library only on
plants. Any visitor may use the materials searchable on
their website Library
database. Any DBG member may check out materials.
Remember: most cities have a botanic garden with a library,
check it out.
- University of Colorado Health Science Center Denison
Memorial Library (4200 East 9th, Denver, CO 80262,
phone: 303-315-7460) - A major medical library just east
of Colorado Boulevard. It has an extensive special collection
on "complementary and indigenous medicine".
Students doing student work may use the materials there
or purchase a short term use pass that will allow them
to check out materials.
Tip: If you are searching on the Internet, remember
the Library search
tips and think about the reliability
and accuracy of the information.
Look for similar libraries in your area. Try a botanical
libraries list or a libraries
directory. You will see that there are hundreds of botanical
and horticultural libraries around the world including the
Lloyd Library &
Museum, the New York
Botanical Garden, and the National
Agricultural Library.
Associations
Herb Organizations
- American Botanical
Council ABC member benefits include access to HerbClip
Online, Complete German Commission E Monographs, and Clinical
Guide to Herbs. You also get a subscription to the journal
Herbalgram, which contains information on new research,
ethnobotany, herb legislation, regulation and marketing.
- European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy ESCOP was created to develop a coordinated scientific framework to assess and research phytomedicines and phytotherapy, to promote the acceptance of phytomedicines, especially within general medical practice, and to produce reference monographs on the therapeutic use of plant drugs.
- Herb Research
Foundation HRF provides a search service from their
specialty research library containing more than 300,000
scientific articles on thousands of herbs. This organization
is based in Boulder (303-449-2265). For a reasonable fee,
you can also order packets on disease conditions and particular
herbs. If you join, you get a subscription to Herbs for
Health or Herbalgram.
Government Information and Regulators
Electronic Journals
E-journals are usually paperless journals that may or
may not be freely available and may or may not be peer-reviewed.
Use the Journal Finder in Skyline or OAIster.
Other Useful Resource Lists
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is very easy to avoid but just as easy to do!
"Plagiarism:
What It Is and How To Avoid It" created by the
Indiana University Campus Writing Center provides a clear
explanation of the subject.
Citation styles
Style manuals are tools for giving credit to the original
authors. Use this QUICK
ONLINE GUIDE to citing styles (B. Davis Schwartz Memorial
Library at Long Island University).
Your instructor prefers the AMA citation style wherein
references are given as endnotes.
- AMA - American Medical Association
manual of style : a guide for authors and editors. Baltimore
: Williams & Wilkins, c1998, 9th edition. The print
version of this is not available at Auraria Library. Click
here to see
other locations in the Front Range.
Two other citing styles acceptable to your instructor,
Linda B. White, M.D., are MLA and APA.
- MLA - MLA handbook for writers of
research papers / Joseph Gibaldi. New York : Modern Language
Association of America, 1999. REF LB2369 .G53
1999
- APA - Publication manual of
the American Psychological Association. Washington, DC
: American Psychological Association, 1994. REF
DESK BF 76.7 P82 1994
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