Independent Project - Health Policy and Bioethics
Fall 2004
Choosing a Topic
Write down your ideas and some keywords you might use to describe
each one. Then, state your topic as a question. It is important
to have more than one idea and to be flexible - you may have to
narrow, broaden, or even change your topic as you move through
the research process.
Getting Some Background Information
Background sources can provide useful descriptions, overviews,
and often list recommended reading on a topic.
Encyclopedia of Bioethics,
in 5 volumes. LAU Ref Stacks, Bioethics, QH332 .E52 1995; Dahlgren
QH 302.5 E56 1995
This is an excellent starting place. The encyclopedia takes an
interdisciplinary approach to current moral, ethical and legal
problems in bioethics. Contains detailed articles on ethical issues
affecting the life sciences. Includes a bibliography at the end
of each article and an extensive index.
Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics,
in 4 volumes. LAU Ref Stacks, Bioethics, BJ63 .E44 1998
Examines ethical theories and concepts, and applies philosophical
thinking to a broad range of practical problems. Articles are
clearly organized and presented with an outline, glossary,
cross-references, and a bibliography.
Encyclopedia of Ethics,
in 3 volumes. LAU Ref Stacks, Bioethics, BJ63 .E45 2001
Current coverage of over 400 topics on philosophical ethics. Each
entry includes a bibliography. The Library also has the 1992 edition
(in 2 volumes) in multiple locations.
Encyclopedia of Ethical, Legal, and
Policy Issues in Biotechnology. LAU Ref Stacks, Bioethics
P248.16 .E539 2000
Defines and describes societal issues surrounding biotechnology,
analyzes their implications, and presents public policy options.
FirstGov. Available online.
The official homepage of the U.S. federal government. Includes
links to all three branches of the federal government, as
well
as links to state and local governments. Links are organized
by agency, topic and target audience. Good source for background
infromation on government policy.
Statistical Abstract of the United
States, C 3.134 Government Documents Reference;
HA202 Lauinger Reference. Also available online.
A well indexed, comprehensive collection of statistics in tabular
format. Includes basic statistics for a wide range of economic
indicators, including health. The index leads to specific table
numbers. Each table lists the source of the statistics for further
reference.
Finding Monographs (Books) and Journals
GEORGE, the online catalog, provides easy access to holdings,
locations, circulation status, bibliographic and loan information
for books and other materials. Search by Keyword, or using Subject
Headings (controlled vocabulary).
Sample Subject Headings for finding books:
- bioethics
- insurance, health - United States
- medical care
- medical ethics
- medical policy
To find journals, in addition to the catalog, you may use JournalFinder.
Finding Periodical Articles in Journals and Newspapers
Difference
between academic and popular journals - from the University
of Auckland Library.
The list of all the databases by broader categories and specific
topics that GU Library subscribes to is at: http://www.library.georgetown.edu/advisor/.
You may select ethics
from the topics list. Note: To find if we own the journal
where the citation you found was published, in addition to the
catalog, you may use JournalFinder.
Academic
Search Premier - Provides full text for 3,467 publications
covering academic areas of study. Some of the titles included
in this aggregator (the dates in parenthesis refer to full-text
availability): Discover (1992- ), Scientific American (1993- ),
Time Magazine (1990- ).
Medline or PubMed
(1966 - ). PubMed,
a service of the National Library of Medicine, provides access
to over 12 million MEDLINE citations back to the mid-1960's and
additional life science journals. PubMed includes links to many
sites providing full text articles and other related resources.
Recently the data from the National Reference Center for Bioethics
Literature was added. By using the limit option one can retrieve
only the Bioethics subset.
New York Times available
full-text online current
issues (1999- ) or Historical
New York Times (1851-1999).
Philosopher's Index (1940
- ). Philosopher's
Index provides indexing and abstracts from books and journals
of philosophy and related interdisciplinary fields. It is a major
source of information in the areas of aesthetics, epistemology,
ethics, logic and metaphysics; it is also a rich source of material
on the philosophy of various disciplines, such as education, history,
law, religion and science.
Internet Resources
Information available on the Internet is not regulated for quality
or accuracy; therefore, it is particularly important for the individual
Internet user to evaluate the resource or information. Visit http://www.library.georgetown.edu/internet/eval.htm
for more information.
Tip. When searching google, use the advanced search option to
limit your search to the .edu, .org, or .gov domains.
Information
Resources on Bioethics - Stanford University
Center for the Study of
Bioethics - Medical College of Wisconsin
FirstGov
- Health
National Reference
Center for Bioethics Literature - Kennedy Institute of Ethics
- Bioethics
Resources on the Web - Scope Note 38
University of Toronto Joint
Centre for Bioethics
US Department of Health &
Human Services
Narrowing or Broadening Your Topic
If you're finding too much information on your subject, you may
want to narrow it. Or, if you're finding too little on your subject,
you may want to broaden it, or talk to a reference librarian about
subject headings you might use to describe your topic.
Where Did You Find It? Cite Your Sources!
Keep track of all the sources you use to write your paper: books,
articles, and/or Web sites. These will be listed in the bibliography
at the end of your paper and will need to follow a format, such
as Committee on Form and Style, Council of Biology Editors Style
Manual. Information for how to make a Web Site citation can be
found at http://www.library.georgetown.edu/Internet/cite.htm.
You may schedule a Library Research Conference.
Stop by the Reference Desk at Blommer, call 7-5651, or email:
Nevenka
Zdravkovska or Gwen
Owens.
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