Once you've explored your topic and thought about what information you'd like to find, try searching the databases below for potential sources you can use for your report. Use the information below about keywords and searching to help you find information in the library's databases; however, if your keywords aren't working, ask a librarian for help!
Keywords & Searching Tips
In most cases, you can start by simply searching for the name of your disease. However, remember that sometimes diseases or conditions have multiple names - a common name, a scientific name, and/or an abbreviated name. For example:
Common Name: Lou Gehrig's Disease
Medical Name: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Abbreviated Name: ALS
If you're not finding the information that you need, consider that you may need to look under a different name. Particularly medical resources might use the medical name instead of the common name. And sometimes an abbreviated name, such as COPD, becomes so common that you will often find information with it rather than the fully spelled-out medical name. In addition, a disease like COPD sometimes has several different variable names:
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- chronic obstructive airway disease
- chronic obstructive lung disease
Beyond searching the diseases name, if you're having trouble locating specific information, you can add another keyword to your search to help you narrow the search. For example the three searches below will return different results and help you narrow your number of results so that you don't have to go through everything there is on diabetes:
Search: Diabetes and symptoms
Search: Diabetes and treatment
Search: Diabetes and diagnosis
Once again, if you have any trouble finding the information you're looking for, please come by the library or ask a librarian for help!
