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Bio 133 Human Machine Tips on How to Find Current Health and Science Articles

This web guide was created to assist you in
locating current health and science magazine and newspaper articles
using MCC Libraries online databases. It provides a list of
recommended article databases to use to search for articles on your
topic, article search tips, links to health & science websites, and
information on citing style guidelines.

About MCC Libraries Online Article Databases
The MCC Libraries subscribe to a number of electronic databases you can
use to search for articles on your particular topic. Some databases are
full-text and therefore have entire articles from certain magazines,
journals, and newspapers available to you to print directly from the
computer.
To Access MCC Libraries Article Databases
| Go to http://www.monroecc.edu/go/library |
| Click "Find Articles and Online
Databases" |
If off-campus select "Access from Home" and follow directions to log-in to EZProxy |
| Scroll down to view the categories of databases available |
| Then select a database to search |

To log-in to EZproxy, students must use the same username and password
combination required to access their MCC Student E-mail Account. MCC
students can learn more about their college e-mail account by visiting
the
"MCC Students" web page at
http://www.monroecc.edu/Students/ and clicking on the "Lookup My
Account" and "Common Questions" links in the "Email
Help & Setup" drop
down menu on the right side of the page.
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Recommended Article Databases
The following databases are useful for locating magazine and newspaper
articles in the fields of science and health. Here you will find
articles from the following magazines: Discover, Harvard Health
Letter, Health, National Geographic,
Natural Health, New Scientist, Newsweek, Popular Science, Prevention, Science News, Scientific
American, Time, U.S. News and World Report and
many others.
|
Academic
Search Premier |
Health Reference Center Academic |
|
Custom
Newspapers |
MasterFile Premier |
|
General
Science Collection |
OmniFile Full Text Select |
|
Gale Health & Wellness Resource Center |
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle |
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Terms / Keywords to use when Searching for Articles
A successful search for articles on your topic in the library databases depends upon what
terms/keywords you type in the search box.
1.) You can perform a search in an article database using some of the
recommended terms listed below.
Examples of possible terms/keywords to use in your search include:
|
Advances, or New Advances |
Medical Research, or Research |
|
Biotechnology |
Medical Technology |
|
High Technology |
New Medical Treatments |
|
Hot Topics |
Scientific Advances |
|
Latest Research |
New Treatments |
|
Medical Breakthroughs |
Technological Innovations |
|
Medical Innovations |
|
Example of a
Basic Keyword Search

2.)
You can combine these terms with your topic to create
different search
strategies using the words "and", "or", "not"
to help locate more focused
articles available on your topic.
Some examples of keyword search strategies include:
| Medical Innovations and Heart |
| New Medical Treatments and Pain
Management |
| High Technology and Medicine |
| Advances and Gene Therapy |
| Medical Breakthroughs and Stroke |
Example of a Keyword Search Strategy using
the word "and" to
connect your search terms
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Additional Article Search Tips
- Search more than one database to locate
articles, since there is variation in the subject terms used by each
database, and also differences in the type and number of journals,
magazines, and newspapers covered in each database.
- Each library article database contains a "Help" section which provides numerous tips on searching,
viewing search results, and print/e-mail/save options.
- If a full-text article is not available
directly from a database, make sure you write down or print off the citation for the article.
You will need the citation information (title of the publication, author, title of article, volume, date, issue, and page numbers) to check if the article is available from the Libraries' print periodicals collection, or if you want to submit a request for
Interlibrary Loan.
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Interpreting the Results of your Search
-
After you press the "Search" button a list of records will
appear on the screen. Some articles in your results list
will be available full text directly from the database, which you can
then print off directly from the computer.
Depending upon your topic, you
may see a wide variety of publications appearing in your search results
list. The most
recent articles written on your topic will appear at the top of the
search result list.
-
You can limit your search results by publication type simply by clicking
on the "academic journals" or "magazines" links that appear in the top
left corner of the search results screen.
|
How to narrow your search results to retrieve
only journal or magazine articles. |
|
 |
-
When reviewing your search results, consider the length of the articles
that appear in your results list. Some may be very short, only a
couple hundred words, while others may be a few pages, or up to 10 pages in
length or longer. You want to make sure you select an article that
contains enough content for you
to read and write a summary on. Notice that the article in the results
list below is 1 page in length.

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Other Options for Limiting your Search
Using search terms in combination with the different limiting
options provided in each database may also help you narrow your search
to find articles on
your topic.
Note that the limiting options are labeled differently in each database.
For example, in the Academic Search Premier article database you are able to
limit your search results using the following options available in the
"Advanced Search" feature: Cover Story, Full-Text, limit to
a specific Publication (for example,
Newsweek), and limit to Publication Type (for example, periodical
or newspaper).
In the example below I have limited my search to
locate full-text articles available in Popular Science magazine.

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Health & Science News Websites
Current health and science news articles are sometimes available
online from
various news and magazine websites.
Some popular websites to visit include:
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Citing your Sources
- Many article databases now offer citation creation tools available
directly from within their search interface. In the Ebsco databases, this
feature appears when you select the Print, E-mail, or Save option for
any record in your search results list.
- Remember that these citation creation tools only serve as guides to the
citing process. You should always check the citation that is created by
these tools against a
style manual
to make sure that it is formatted correctly.

Example of the Citation Creation Tool available after selecting the "Print" option for a
record in the Academic Search Premier article database.

More Citation Help
-
In addition to the citation creation tools, the "Help" sections in the
article databases also provide guidelines and examples showing
the formatting options of various citation styles, such as the Modern
Language Association (MLA).
-
The MCC Libraries
Citing and Writing Resources page provides links to learn more about grammar usage,
the writing process, and various citing styles needed to properly document books, articles, websites,
or other materials used in completing your assignments.
-
Consult the The MCC Guide
to Writing Research Papers, a publication developed by the MCC
Libraries and English department Faculty to serve as a guide to the
information research process. Contents include: how to cite print and
electronic resources using examples from the American Psychological
Association (APA), Modern Language Association (MLA), and Council of
Science Editors (CSE) style manuals.
- Print copies of the
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers,
6th edition, published in 2003 are available at the LeRoy V. Good
Library (Brighton campus) LB 2369.G53 2003, and the Damon City Campus
Library (CIty LB 2369.G53 2003).
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 Need
Additional Help?
For in-person assistance while on campus,
stop by the
Information Desk at the LeRoy V. Good Library, and the Reference
Desk at the Damon City Campus Library. Librarians are always
available to assist you with you information needs.
When you are off campus, you can reach
a Librarian by telephone at 292-2319 (LeRoy V. Good) and
292-1420 (Damon), and also through our Electronic Reference
Service
http://www.monroecc.edu/go/eref.
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P. Czaja, Revised 8/2008,
http://www.monroecc.edu/go/library |