Monday, November 24, 2008

Cochrane databases give nursing majors access to more evidence based research

The library now has access to the Cochrane Collection of Health Care databases through the Ebsco interface. Essentially, this is a collection of six different databases with a focus on evidence based medicine.

  • NHS Economic Evaluation Database (NHS EED) - This database looks at the cost of treatment. "Economic evaluations - the cost-benefit analysis of two or more different medical treatments - from around the world.."
  • Health Technology Assessments (HTA) - provides details of completed and ongoing health technology assessments (studies of the medical, social, ethical and economic implications of healthcare interventions). It contains systematic reviews, as well as ongoing and completed research based on trials, questionnaires and economic evaluations.
  • Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews - These full text reviews are highly structured and systematic, with evidence included or excluded on the basis of explicit quality criteria.
  • Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) - abstracts (not full text) of published systematic reviews on the effects of health care from around the world, which have been critically analyzed according to a high standard of criteria.
  • Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials - a bibliography of controlled trials identified as part of an international effort to hand search the world's journals and create an unbiased source of data for systematic reviews.
  • Cochrane Methodology Register - a bibliography of publications which report on methods used in the conduct of controlled trials.
Note that the last three databases listed do not include full text. However, if you come across a useful article and you can't find the full text, don't dispair. You can always use interlibrary loan and request it. The average time it takes to obtain an article, which is mailed as a pdf to your Otterbein email account, is five days.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Native American Heritage Month at the Library

November is Native American Heritage Month. To celebrate Native Americans, a display of books covering topics related to historical and contemporary American Indian life and culture is currently located on the library's second floor display shelves. Library users are encouraged to browse through these books and to check out any that are of interest to them.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

New resource for History Database


Ebsco, which houses Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life, recently unveiled an add on to these databases called Clio Notes. Essentially, Clio Notes are brief encyclopedic articles covering general time periods and major subjects within those periods. Further, once you examine the article, search headings are provided that take you directly back into the database to look for journal articles and other information.

Monday, November 03, 2008

100 Reference Books Online through Credo


Credo Reference gives you access to 100 reference titles from respected publishers. With this collection you can find everything from speedy answers, such as the definition of accoub in Benders' Dictionary of Nutrition and Food Technology, to long in-depth articles about Albert Camus in the Dictionary of Existentialism. Further, some titles include sound, animation, images and video.

You will find a range of materials in Credo Reference, everything from dictionaries (including bilingual), to quotations, encyclopedias, and subject specific titles in a wide array of fields.