Research Guides: HLTH 6110: Intervention Strategies for Health Education and Promotion: Evaluating and Interpeting Information

Searching for Articles

Once you have narrowed down your topic, and have identified keywords, you are ready to begin searching for relevant literature. You can begin your search either in One Search or in the Library Databases. Below is a list of library databases related to Health and Human Performance, as well as Nutrition. Remember each database has its own set of subject headings using these could help improve your search results.

Need Help Using a Database? If you need help using a database, or constructing a search, there may be a library tutorial to show you how. Or you can contact a librarian for assistance.

Library doesn't have access? If you find an article or book that you are interested in and the library does not have access to the content, you can request the resource through Interlibrary Loan. There is no charge or this service.

Is it Peer-Reviewed?

Check Ulrichsweb you're not sure if a journal is peer-reviewed. Just look for the referee jersey next to the journal title.

Ulrichsweb

Scholarly/professional vs. Popular articles -- what's the Difference?

What is the difference among scholarly, professional (sometimes called 'trade' journals, and popular journals (a brief video)?
This brief video from ECU Libraries explains the difference among these types of publications and how each can be of value.

Evaluating Web Sites

Evaluation of web sites
In professional public health work, the ".com" domain is infrequently consulted. Look instead for the ".org" domain (largely indicative of non-profit and/or advocacy sites. You must still evaluate ".org" materials for bias.) Web sites from the ".edu" domain are also useful in professional public health work.

SIFT Method for Evaluating Resources

HELPFUL FOR EVALUATING WEBSITES

(Content pf this box courtesy of Central Michigan University Libraries. For additional explanation and examples see: https://libguides.cmich.edu/web_research/examples ) Additional examples of SIFT available from Clark College Libraries: https://clark.libguides.com/evaluating-information/SIFT

Let's use as an example the web page of the Amercian College of Pediatricians at https://acpeds.org/. The:website looks very professional and polished, and much like other professional health organizations. There don't appear to be any obvious typos and it is updated regularly. However, what can we discover about it when we leave the website and do an internet search?

SIFT Method:

STOP - open another window and go to Google.com.
INVESTIGATE the Source - You find that a google search for the site in question reveals information from Twitter, Wikipedia, and other organizations (such as GLAAD and Psychology Today), an extended newspaper article from the Washington Post indicating that the American College of Pediatricians voices strong support of anti-LGBTQ legislation. More investigation may be needed for you to make a determination of the validity of the information found on https://acpeds.org/
FIND Other Coverage - An alternative organization to consider from your search results may be the American Academy of Pediatrics. A Google search of this organization does not reveal any obvious bias.
TRACE Claims to Original Context - One statement on the https://acpeds.org/ website is as follows: “[Gender/transition affirming health care] is neither proven effective nor safe long term, does not reduce suicides, and is not the standard of care for gender dysphoria.” However, a search in PubMed reveals research studies published in medical and psychology journals that find that gender-affirming care does decrease chances of depression and suicide in patients.

Conclusion based on this analysis of https://acpeds.org/ - this source is biased toward one point of view. If you decide to use the web site for information relating to LGBTQ issues, you will want to clearly communicate to your audience that you are aware of the viewpoint of the organization.

Anatomy of a Scholarly Article: Sciences

View the following PowerPoint tutorial to learn more about the structure of a scholarly article in the Sciences.

RefWorks

RefWorks is a citation management software that you can use to simplify the research process. You can keep citations to articles in RefWorks, access journal articles in databases without searching for them again, cite sources in your paper, and create a bibliography with RefWorks. This software is available to all students at ECU during the duration of their time at ECU. Click the button below to get registered! Click here for tutorials.