This page will help you get more out of your Library resources for your assignments, projects and dissertations in Physician Associate Studies

Reading Lists

  • School of Health and Care Professions

Independent Research - getting started

It is important to understand the kind of information you need when researching for your assignment.  For example you may want to start by finding definitions or background information. Alternatively you may be seeking statistics or research findings. Once you have decided what type of information you need you can use the Ocean of Information to help you to understand the value of different sources and how to access them.

Evaluating your sources is also crucial when writing a piece of academic work - the Evaluating information page on the library website will guide you through this process

 

  • Library catalogue

    (Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)

    The Library Catalogue contains details of books, journals, DVDs and other materials held by the library in physical form as well as many resources available electronically (eg. e-books and databases).

    A 'search term' may be all or part of a title, author, publisher or simply subject keywords.

    A guide to the using the library catalogue can be found here /guides/docs/LG174.pdf

  • Clinical Key

    A collection of key pharmacy and medical textbooks. Make sure to register as a student on this platform.

    Includes:

    • Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology
    • Kumar and Clark's Clinical Medicine
    • Mims' Medical Microbiology and Immunology
    • Rang & Dale's Pharmacology

     

  • Ebook Central

    (Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)

    Access around 200,000 ebooks across all subject areas.

  • Kortext Medicine and Nursing

  • Medicines Complete

    (Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)

    Medicines Complete is an online platform with access to medical ebooks.

    Includes:

    • British national formulary
    • British national formulary for Children
    • Pharmaceutical excipients
    • Stockley's drug interactions

Creating a search strategy

The following pages have been designed to take you step-by-step through the process of creating a search strategy.

They can be read in the order given, or if one step of the process is of particular interest to you - for example - Applying search techniques - you can go straight to that section.

Today’s search topic is:

The impact of hand hygiene on infection control in a hospital setting.

Please note, while the above topic is health related, the same searching principles will apply across all Health and Science subjects. 

Instead of typing the whole topic into Google or any other search engine, we are going to break our topic into concepts before we begin searching.

When you have broken your topic down into concepts, you can start thinking more carefully about the vocabulary that may be used for each of the concepts you have identified.

  • Alternative keywords will help you to broaden your search if you are not finding very much information on your topic.
  • Alternative keywords will help you to narrow your search and make it more subject specific if you are finding too much information.

The Alternative keywords video explains the process in more detail.

When you have selected the alternative keywords for your search strategy, it is time to apply some search techniques to those keywords. The Applying Search Techniques video explains more about using “phrase searching” and truncation.

When you have applied your phrase searching and truncation, you are ready to run your search in EBSCO Discovery

When you have run your search in EBSCO Discovery, you may want to consider using Limiters to help you refine your results. The Using Limiters video highlights some of the limiters available to you.

EBSCO Discovery is a database that searches the majority of databases that we subscribe to. When you become familiar with EBSCO Discovery you might want to explore the more subject specific databases to enhance your literature searching. This video shows you how.

Independent Research - beyond the basics

For some assignments, our Discovery Service will give you enough sources to work with. Sometimes you may want to try specific databases or journals - perhaps your lecturer has recommended particular names as a good way of finding articles. This page lists key sources for your course.

To search databases systematically you must first consider the vocabulary you are using and how you combine your search terms. This Applying a search strategy library guide will help you in this process, or if you prefer to use mind mapping techniques this Choosing keywords guide may also help you.

Having decided upon your search terms you will need to use the advanced search screens of Discovery or your preferred databases to conduct your search. In some cases you may wish to use the search history function to develop a systematic search strategy. Advanced search strategies require you to utilize Boolean operators. The following video demonstrates how to use the advanced search option.

The University Library also provides access to a large range of resources to help you to develop your research skills. This includes the Sage Research Methods package.

  • Sage Research Methods

    Access books and videos about quantitative and qualitative research methods and many more social science research topics. Use the Tools drop-down at the top centre of the screen to access a handy Project Planner which is full of FAQs about what you need to consider at each stage in a project/dissertation. Tools also contains a Methods Map which is ideal for quickly finding details about a particular research method.

  • CINAHL

    (Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)

    CINAHL (the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) contains journal article abstracts with links to the full-text where available. Locate articles from the nursing and allied health subjects

    This database is available to search on its own from the link above, plus you will find CINAHL results when searching Discovery

    Help pages available

    Using CINAHL/MeSH Subject Headings 

     

  • The Cochrane Library

    The Cochrane Library is a collection of databases that contain high-quality, independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making and is the leading source to support evidence based practice. Locate systematic reviews, clinical trials and find abstracts of economic evaluations of health care interventions.

    Help pages available 

     

  • Google Scholar

    A variant of Google that searches for academic literature. Provides access to articles, books, conference papers and preprints. Links to Full-text @ Portsmouth on campus or when using the VPN.

    A Library Guide to this resource is available

  • Medline

    (Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)

    Locate articles from a large range of medical journals. Subjects covered include medicine, pharmacy, allied health, and pre-clinical sciences. Plus life sciences, including some aspects of biology, marine biology, plant and animal science as well as biophysics and chemistry. Contains journal article abstracts with links to the full-text where available.

    This database is available to search on its own from the link above, plus you will find Medline results when searching Discovery.

    How to search using MeSH (Medical Subject Headings)

     

  • NIHR Journals Library

    (Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)

    The NIHR (National Institute of Health Research) Journals Library provides full publication and open access to an extensive body of health research. It comprises a suite of six programme-specific journal series, published online, which are fully searchable and provide a comprehensive record of work funded by these NIHR programmes.

  • PsycArticles

    (Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)

    Full text articles from over 100 APA journals covering subjects including addiction, applied psychology, clinical psychology, cognition and memory developmental, experimental psychology, gender and sexual orientation, health psychology, psychopharmacology, social psychology, and violence and trauma. 

  • PsycInfo

    (Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)

    Abstracts of articles covering subjects including psychology, health, business, education, law, linguistics, medicine, neuroscience, pharmacology, social work, sociology and sport.

  • PubMed

    PubMed comprises millions of citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher websites

  • Scopus

    Large abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature covering all subject areas.

  • SocINDEX

    (Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)

    A key source for tracking down articles across the social sciences. This database is available on the EBSCO platform allowing you to search this database alongside others within Discovery.

  • TRIP Database

    (Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)

    The TRIP Database is a free to use clinical search engine which searches clinical articles, systematic reviews, and medical guidelines. There are links to full text where available.

  • Web of Science

    Part of Web of Knowledge, includes records for thousands of scholarly publications. Search across three main citation databases (Science/Social Science/Arts & Humanities). 

  • Health Talk Online

    (Searchable in EBSCO Discovery)

    Healthtalkonline lets you share in other people's experiences of health and illness. You can watch or listen to videos of the interviews, read about people's experiences and find reliable information about conditions, treatment choices and support.

  • Royal College of Nursing

    The Royal College of Nursing is the world's largest nursing union and professional body. This website is useful for professional development and news items.

  • World Health Organization

    Founded in 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO) is the United Nations agency dedicated to global health and safety. The Organization connects nations, partners and communities to promote health and serve the vulnerable. WHO works with its Member States to achieve the highest level of health for all people by pursuing universal health coverage.

    This website is useful for data, health news and disease outbreak response information.

  • Nursing and Midwifery Council

    The nursing and midwifery regulator for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Website includes professional standards of practice, policies and reports.

  • British Library EthOS

    A database of digitised UK doctoral theses offering free online access to theses of participating Higher Education institutions.

  • OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)

    General pages provide country information and statistics. Investment pages of particular interest.

  • Nexis Uni

    Full text articles from many news sources and trade journals both UK and international. Archives sometimes stretching back to the mid 1980s. For use in the UK only.

  • PressReader

    PressReader lets you access UK and international newspapers, plus a wide range of magazine content. Everything is full colour with archives varying in length depending on the publication.

    Login guidance

  • BoB: On demand TV and radio for education

    An archive of UK television and radio programmes from free to air channels (1998 onwards). For use in the UK only. Find some great tips about how to use BoB in these short videos.

  • Kanopy

    A unique collections of films including award-winning documentaries, training films and theatrical releases on every topic imaginable. Content can be searched or browsed.

  • Visible Body Suite

    Visible Body is a 3D human body reference and study tool. Explore general anatomy, functional units, cross sections, muscle attachments, bony landmarks, muscle actions and more.

    To access this resource:

    • You must register for an account either on campus using a university PC or the University wifi, or if off campus register using the VPN.
    • Sign up with your University email address.
    • Once registered you can use your account to login off campus.
    • You must login on campus or via VPN every 150 days to revalidate your account.

     

  • Sage Research Methods

    Access books and videos about quantitative and qualitative research methods and many more social science research topics. Use the Tools drop-down at the top centre of the screen to access a handy Project Planner which is full of FAQs about what you need to consider at each stage in a project/dissertation. Tools also contains a Methods Map which is ideal for quickly finding details about a particular research method.

  • Linkedin Learning

    Online learning and training courses covering business and employability, as well as creative and technical skills.

Referencing

The library Referencing webpage provides lots of useful help and support on all referencing styles.

The Reference Management Tools library webpage is useful if you would like to find links for Mendeley, Endnote and other reference management software. The page links to help and support including step-by-step guides.