Subject and Course Guides: Health Professions Summer Programs Guide: Background Resources

Why Use Background Sources?

Use background sources to find:

A broad overview of a topic
Important dates, names and other facts.
Useful terminology which you can use to strengthen your research.

In general, the encyclopedias available through the library are more reliable than Wikipedia or other web sites, as they have undergone an editorial review process.

Sage Research Methods

General Reference Sources

Credo Reference
Growing collection of electronic reference books -- dictionaries, encyclopedias, bilinguals, almanacs, handbooks, atlases, and directories.

A continually growing collection of electronic reference books -- dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, handbooks, atlases and directories. There are bilinguals, general and specialized reference books, and all can be searched from one interface. See the title list on the website.

http://www.credoreference.com/advanced.do
Oxford Reference Online
Oxford Reference Online is a digital reference shelf of topical encyclopedias, handbooks, thesauruses and dictionaries with emphasis on Literature and Western Civilization . Limited to 5 simultaneous users.
Ulrichsweb/Ulrich's Periodicals Directory
Ulrichweb provides comprehensive information on serials published throughout the world.

Ulrichweb provides detailed, comprehensive, and authoritative information on serials published throughout the world. It covers all subjects, and includes publications that are published regularly or irregularly and are circulated free of charge or by paid subscription.

Point-of-Care Tools

DynaMed
DynaMed is an evidence-based information resource used by physicians around the world to answer clinical questions quickly and easily. DynaMed includes thousands of topics covering emergency medicine, cardiology, oncology, infectious diseases, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology and much more. the Library/IT Assessment.
Note: if you get an error message, close the browser and try accessing the site again.
Nursing Reference Center Plus
Master nursing best practices with the source for evidence-based information designed specifically for nurses. Includes PERC (go to More and select Patient Ed).

This resource was partially acquired with funding from the Library/IT Assessment.

This database complements CINAHL; providing the most recent clinical evidence to nurses and other health care professionals, directly at the point-of-care.

Consumer Health

MEDLINEPlus
Consumers' health information produced by the National Library of Medicine that is authoritative and up to date.

Produced by the National Library of Medicine, MEDLINEPlus provides health professionals and consumers information that is authoritative and up to date. MEDLINEplus has extensive information from the National Institutes of Health and other trusted sources on over 500 diseases and conditions. There are also lists of hospitals and physicians, a medical encyclopedia and dictionaries, health information in Spanish, extensive information on prescription and nonprescription drugs, health information from the media, and links to thousands of clinical trials.

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Health Professions Summer Programs Guide: Background Resources

Why Use Background Sources?

Sage Research Methods

General Reference Sources

Point-of-Care Tools

Consumer Health

Locations

Richard J. Daley Library

Library of the Health Sciences-Chicago

Library of the Health Sciences-Peoria

Crawford Library of the Health Sciences-Rockford

Library of the Health Sciences-Urbana