Where do I begin?

• Start with a narrow topic, it will be easier to research.
• Get backgroud information on your topic from books, encyclopedias or journals.
• Browse everything you can get on your general topic to see all the different issues.

Tip: in the discussion section of many research articles the author proposes further areas of inquiry. This means they are giving you ideas!

Most databases are not 100% full text however, there are different tools and two or three steps to get any article online. Never pay for an article! We usually have it available or can get it for free.

1. Identify the title of the journal. Be sure not to confuse this with the title of the article.
2. Search Skyline by Periodical Title, typing in the name of the journal title. 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. Search Gold Rush by Periodical 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.
4. ILL (Interlibrary Loan)- Get copies of articles or books that the library does not own. Request the article through Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery (ILL) via ILLIAD. Set up a free account first. Articles are delivered to you electronically.

Local Denver Resources

University of Colorado Health Science Center Denison Memorial Library (4200 East 9th, Denver, CO 80262, phone: 303-315-7460) - This is a major medical library near the Medical Center on Colorado Boulevard. It is generally open from 7 am to 10 pm Monday thru Thursday with shorter hours Friday thru Sunday. It has many of the journals indexed in Medline and SportsDiscus that the Auraria Library doesn't own.

Reference Tools

Encyclopedias, dictionaries: Tools for learning the vocabulary of a discipline.

Tip: A word search in Skyline using your term and the word "encyclopedias" will pull up specialized encyclopedias on the topic (example: physiology and encyclopedias ). Subject encyclopedias are excellent tools for providing an overview of a topic or research area in a field.  These are just a few samples. A few sample reference sources:

Encyclopedia of Human Biology REF QP11. E53

Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science and Medicine REF RC1206 .O94 1994

In any library look for information on physiology in your local university, special or public library. Try browsing in the following sections of the Auraria Library.

• RM 695-890 (Physical medicine)
• RC1200-1245 (Sports 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 . )

Internet Resources

American Journal of Sports Medicine

NISMAT exercise physiology corner 

Digital Image Archive : images related to sports physiology.

Physician and Sports Medicine

SportsMedicine.com

Human Anatomy Online

Gray's Anatomy

Tip: If you are searching on the Internet, remember the Library search tips and think about the reliability and accuracy of the information.

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). The two main citing styles in use for your subject are MLA an APA. Check your syllabus for the preferred style.

• MLA - MLA handbook for writers of research papers REF DESK LB2369 .G53
  • Purdue University Online Writing Lab
  • Long Island University
• APA - Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. REF DESK BF 76.7 P82
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center
  • Purdue University Online Writing Lab

Doing effective searches online

You can save time and get better information by learning how to apply Boolean logic and other search strategies to your online searches.  All online keyword searches use some form of Boolean logic.

• Boolean Logic allows you to combine keywords to make a search more precise.  The three combinations are:  AND, OR, NOT

AND - Narrows a search
example: teenagers and exercise  -- will retrieve all articles with both teenagers and exercise in the article.

OR - Expands a search
example: teenagers or adolescents - will retrieve all articles with just teenagers, all articles with just adolescents, and all articles with both teenagers and adolescents.

NOT - Removes a term from a search
example: teenagers not adolescents  -- will retrieve all articles about teenagers but remove all articles with any mention of adolescents.  Use NOT sparingly because you often lose many useful pieces of information.

• You can combine and, or, or not in your searches by using parentheses. 
  Example:  exercise and (teenagers or adolescents)  -- will retrieve articles on "exercise and teenagers" and "exercise and adolescents."
• Most systems also let you limit your search by looking for exact phrases, limiting by date, company name, images, etc.  Read the help screens to see what each system let's you do.
• CAUTION: How you use Boolean logic varies in different databases and different search engines E.G.  SOME SYSTEMS USE "+" INSTEAD OF and.   Find this information in the help screens.

For more about effective searching, ask a reference librarian or checkout this site on  Boolean Searching.