Nursing and Allied Health Research Guide

This research guide is designed to be a resource for students in the nursing and health sciences programs to find health-related information. Because this area of knowledge covers a wide variety of information sources, this research guide is necessarily broad and inclusive. Please review each source carefully.

Print Sources in the Library

The Library's catalog contains many items on nursing and allied health topics.  To review these items, enter the catalog, and then click on Subject search. Relevant general subjects include Nursing, Medicine, and Diseases. Also try doing a Subject search for materials on specific health-related subjects,  such as Alzheimers, Alcoholism, Radiology, Geriatrics, etc. If you are unable to find appropriate items using a Subject search, try using your terms as a Keyword search.

For background information, consult a medical encyclopedia or dictionary. Below are some books to look for:

Journal and Magazine Articles

The library has access to articles from many nursing and health-related periodicals. To find specific titles of journals or magazines, do a subject search in the library's Catalog for Nursing, Health or Medicine, and then limit the results to MAGAZINE/NEWS.

Many articles can be accessed through the Library's online databases. For more information on how to use the databases, ask a librarian or see the Finding Magazine and Journal Articles research guide.

The Health and Biological Databases contain citations, abstracts, full-text articles, and information specifically about nursing, health and medicine.

World Wide Web Sources

With health-related information, it is especially important to evaluate Web sites. Use these criteria to determine if you should use the information you find on a Web site:

Relevance-Does the information relate to your specific need?
Authority-Who is the author? What are his/her credentials? Authors can be individuals, corporations, organizations, or governments. Every Web site should have an about us where you can find author info.
Purpose-Why is the Web site there? Does the website have a bias?
Currency-When was the site last updated? Is the information current?
Accuracy-Is the information factual? Information presented as fact should site the source.
Presentation-Is the site well designed and well organized? Is the information easy to find?

General health and medicine Web sites

• National Institutes of Health: The National Institutes of Health is the primary agency for medical and behavioral research for the United States. It is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Look here for information on health and scientific research, clinical trials, press releases, and other related resources.
• National Library of Medicine: The National Library of Medicine (NLM), on the campus of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, is the world's largest medical library. The NLM collects materials in all areas of biomedicine and health care, as well as works on biomedical aspects of technology, the humanities, and the physical, life, and social sciences. Resources are categorized into information for the public, health-care professionals, and researchers.
• MedicineNet.com: An online healthcare company providing in-depth authoritative medical information produced by over 70 U.S.Board Certified Physicians.
• MedicalStudent: An online source covering all disciplines of medicine.
  

Professional associations can be great resources of information about career opportunities, certification/licensing, testing, practice exams, professional development, and standards. Most of the information is available at no cost, but access to some information may be limited to members. Many associations offer discounted membership rates for students.

Emergency Medical Technician

• National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians
• National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians 

Health Information Technologist

• American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA)  

Massage Therapist

• American Massage Therapy Association - Illinois Chapter
• National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork
• Massage Therapy Foundation 

Medical Assistant

• American Association of Medical Assistants
• Illinois Society of Medical Assistants 

Registered Nurse

• American Nurses Association
• American Association of Colleges of Nursing 

Phlebotomist

• American Medical Technologists (AMT) 

Polysomnography Technologist

• American Association of Sleep Technologists (AAST) 

Radiologic (X-ray) Technologist

• American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT)
• American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) 

Respiratory Therapist

• American Association for Respiratory Care
• National Board for Respiratory Care