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 new library website

This semester the look of the Library homepage has changed and we have a new search tool called quick search. It searches our top dozen databases all at one time and can be a timesaver once you become familiar with it. More features will be available later in the fall.

Getting started - the research topic

Your research question is the key to reducing frustration and stress. It needs to be well-focused and specific. The Auraria Library offers great resources for finding and researching your topic. You can search Skyline for subject encyclopedias and browse the current periodicals area to see what other researchers are doing. You can also search individual databases such as PubMed, or multiple databases using quick search to identify recent medical research in conditions associated with stress.

Tip: In the discussion section of many research articles, the author proposes further areas of inquiry. Also, when you're searching topics in PubMed and find a promising article, try clicking the "related articles" link to the right of the citation.

Quick help

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: stress and encyclopedias). This also applies to "dictionaries" and "video".

• Encyclopedia of stress in the Library at REF QP82.2.S8 E53 2000
• Stress management [electronic resource] : a medical dictionary, bibliography, and annotated research guide to internet references. This is an ebook, view it by using the link in the Skyline record.
• The American Heritage® Dictionary, 4th Edition, or in the Library at REF PE1628 .A6227 2002
• Merriam-Webster Online, or in the Library at REF PE1628 .M36 1998b
• InfoPlease.com, at the Desk Reference in the Library at REF HF5003 .I5

To find books in Skyline, you might try a subject search for your research topic (say, stress and aging). This gives you a list of subject categories related to the topic and the number of books that are associated with each.

The required and suggested texts for this class (Robert Sapolsky's Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers; Bruce McEwen & Elizabeth Norton Lasley's The End of Stress As We Know It; and J. Douglas Bremner's Does Stress Damage the Brain?) have been placed on Reserve at the Library. You may check them out for drastically limited periods.

Tip: Many subject categories appear if you type the word "stress" into the subject search. If you type "stress physiology," you'll find more relevant books. You can further narrow the search using the Limit/Sort Search button - . Try limiting to more current publications (1990 and later) or narrow your subject search in a different narrower topic (e.g., "stress + immune function").

Auraria Library's Online Resources and Databases

Article Databases and Indexes You can search for articles using online databases or indexes. Many provide the full text of the article while some databases display a link to Library holdings (Skyline) or a full text search.

• Medical databases. Look for PubMed and Medline.
• Psychology databases. PsycInfo is the primary index to scholarly research in psychology. ScienceDirect is also excellent, and provides much full text.
• Social Work databases. For the practical side see Social Services Abstracts.
• Multidisciplinary databases. Academic Search Premier and One File (includes Expanded Academic) are general databases that provide coverage of psychology journals. Many articles are full text. You may need to limit to "peer reviewed" or "refereed publications" when searching for psychology research article.

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 PubMed or Medline. Use Skyline to determine availability of the article. Some journals are only available online, these will be indicated in Skyline (example: Stress and Health and Stress Medicine). Other journals are only available in the Library. These are on the first floor Periodicals area.

• Journal title search in Skyline - local journal holdings and available online full text of the journal.
• interlibrary loan - If the Llibrary does not have access to the article, use InterLibrary Loan (ILL) to request a copy. The article will be mailed to you.

Some specifics

1. Identify the title of the journal. Do not confuse the journal title with the title of the article.
2. Search Skyline by Journal title (also 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.
3. 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. 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, Denver Botanic Gardens and Dennison Library at the Health Science Center.

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 Denver Metro area email the distance support librarian.) Use the eBooks subject guide to locate other sources of eBooks. Click here for 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, 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 stress in your local university, special or public library. Try browsing in the following sections of the library.

• QP Physiology
• QR Microbiology
• RB Pathology

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 Resource Center (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 libraries directory or the Librarians' Internet Index.

Associations

• Alternative Medicine Foundation providers of HerbMed
• American Holistic Medical Association
• American Psychological Association
• International Stress Management Association

Government Information and Regulators

• Colorado Department of Health Care Policy information
• National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
• U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Electronic Journals

E-journals are usually paperless journals that may or may not be freely available and may or may not be peer-reviewed.

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.
  • Long Island University
  • A similar styleguide is the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals

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
  • Purdue University Online Writing Lab
  • Long Island University
• APA - Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington, DC : American Psychological Association, 1994. REF DESK BF 76.7 P82 1994
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center
  • Purdue University Online Writing Lab