WHSL Introduction to Research in the Biomedical Sciences: Introduction to Research

The following steps outline a simple and effective strategy for finding information for an assignment, a research report or a paper, and for documenting the sources you find. Depending on your topic and your familiarity with the library, you may need to rearrange these steps. The research process is cyclical, and so you may need to revisit any of these steps several times before you complete your report. You can adapt this outline to your own needs.

1. Identify and develop your topic (this may already be provided in the form of an essay or an assignment)
2. Find background information
3. Use the e-Wits library catalogue and the WHSL e-Resources in Health Care LibGuide to search for books and other media
4. Use e-databases to identify and link to full text journal (periodical) articles
5. Find Internet resources
6. Evaluate all resources you have found and synthesize the material (evidence) you have located into your report or paper
7. Document your sources

• Work from the general to the specific
  • First find background information, then find more recent specialised material on your topic
• Record (make good notes of) what you find, and where you found it
  • Keep a record of each reference (source or citation), and where you found it (eg. from which database) - you will need to check these later when you compile your list of references (sources or bibliography)
• Translate keywords from your topic into MeSH (Medical Subject Heading) terms in order to locate material in the WHSL e-Resources in Health Care LibGuide and the biomedical databases with greater accuracy
  • You can uss the WHSL Medical Subject Headings for PubMed Searching LibGuide to help you use MeSH
• If you are new to using the biomedical literature, you might find the following WHSL guides useful:
  • WHSL Guide to Information Sources in the Health Sciences
  • WHSL Introduction to the Medical Literature