1. Getting Started with Background Information

If you need background information on your topic, including a broad overview or historical information, you may want to consult a reference book such as a subject encyclopedia or dictionary such as one of the following:

Title

Item Location

Call No.

Comprehensive dictionary of audiology illustrated

Reference Collection

RF291 .S73 1997

Encyclopedia of deafness and hearing disorders

Reference Collection

RF290 .T93 2004

The MIT encyclopedia of communication disorders

Reference Collection

RC423 .M56 2004

Singular's illustrated dictionary of audiology

Reference Collection

RF290 .M464 1999

2. Searching for in-depth, older (more than 2 years old) information

You may also search Pilot for additional books and materials owned by the Andruss Library for more in-depth information, using keyword or subject searching. Some of following Library of Congress subject headings may be helpful:

Subject Headings

Audiology

Audiometry

Auditory adaption

Auditory perception

Bioacoustics

Deafness

Hearing

Labyrinth (ear)

Listening

Otolaryngology

Tympanal organ

3. Finding Up-to-Date Information in Subject-Specific Journals

For more current information on specific topics, you will consult the professional journal literature, including trade publications and scholarly journals, for primary and secondary sources. Following is a list of key databases for audiology that you can use to identify relevant articles by topic.

Database name

Description

Academic Search Premier

Our largest interdisciplinary abstract service of over 8,000 magazines and journals. Over 4,500 journals are available in full text.

Basic Science Index

A multi-disciplinary database, with searchable author abstracts. It indexes 800 major English-language journals across 100 scientific disciplines. Useful for finding who has cited a particular author. 2002- present. 3 concurrent users.

CINAHL

Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature database includes access to abstracts from over 1,700 journals. Full text material includes 58 journals. Use the online thesaurus for additional search terms. 1982- present.

Cochrane Library

A collection of systematic literature reviews of the effects of healthcare interventions. Click on LOG ON ANONYMOUSLY; no user name or password necessary, but only one user at a time allowed. Please log off when finished by clicking on EXIT.

Dissertation Abstracts

Dissertation Abstracts Online is searchable by author, subject, title, advisor, etc. DAI provides ONLY abstracts of dissertations, not the full text. You may request a dissertation through interlibrary loan or purchase through UMI < http://www.umi.com/ >. 1861- present.

Education Abstracts

Contains abstracts and/or citations from over 500 English language education periodicals. 1983- present. Full text begins in 1996 for less than half of the titles indexed.

ERIC

Provides full text of more than 2,200 digests along with references for additional information and citations and abstracts from over 1000 educational and education-related journals; 1966- January 2004.

Health Source: Nursing/Academic Version

Provides abstracts and indexing for more than 800 journals, plus more than 550 scholarly full text journals, including more than 450 peer-reviewed journals focusing on many medical disciplines.

MEDLINE

Maintained by the National Library of Medicine, this essential database provides abstracts from over 4,600 current biomedical journals; use the MESH thesaurus to narrow your search. 1966- present. There is a free version of this database available also, available at < http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi > .

PsycARTICLES

Full text articles on current issues in psychology from more than 40 journals published by American Psychological Association and allied organizations. All journals included in this database are indexed in PsycINFO. 1987- present.

PsycINFO

Citations and/or summaries of journal articles, book chapters, books, dissertations, and technical reports for psychology and related disciplines from nearly 2000 journals, most of which are peer reviewed; 1887- present.

Research Library

Another interdisciplinary database providing abstracts from more than 2600 periodicals. Nearly two thirds of the titles are in full text.

  • Access to all subscribed databases is through the Library's Web pages. For a complete alphabetical listing , go to the Databases for Research link and select a subject area ('Medicine and Health'). If you are off-campus, you will be prompted first to enter your Library Account Number, a fourteen-digit number found on the lower left hand corner of your Bloomsburg University ID.

4. Finding (and not finding) books and journals in Andruss Library

If you are looking for a book ,

  • You will need the call number and location information. Generally speaking, books beginning with the call numbers A to N are found on the 3 rd floor and P to Z are on the 4 th floor. Consult the Floor Plans for more complete information.
  • If a book is NOT available in Andruss Library, you may request it through another Library at no cost using one of our interlibrary loan options. Consult our Web page for more information.

If you are looking for a journal article ,

  • First check Serials Solution , a database that lists the periodicals available through Andruss Library. Search by the journal's name to see if the journal is available either electronically or in print. Generally, print journals dated 1989 or later are located on the 1 st floor of the Library (in Current, Bound, or Microfilm areas) while journals dated earlier than 1989 are located on the 4 th floor. Following is a sample record:
 
         
   

The above screen shot shows that the American annals of the deaf is available electronically through four databases, Communication & Mass Media Complete, ProQuest Research Library, Education Abstracts, and Project Muse, for a variety of dates and is available in print from 1886 to the present in the Andruss Library.

  • To view the electronic journal , click on the name of the database in which it is available.
  • To find the print copy, click on the link for 'Andruss Library Holdings'. This will search PILOT indicating where the journal may be found in the Library.
  • If the journal is not listed in Serials Solution , you may assume that we do not have it, and you may request it through interlibrary loan .

3. Exploring Selected Internet Sites

You may want to explore some of the following Web sites, including those sponsored by the professional associations, for additional information.

URL

Name of Site

http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

http://www.audiology.org/

American Academy of Audiology

http://asha.org

American Speech Language Hearing Association

http://www.audiologyonline.com/

Audiology Online -contains job listings and some full-text content of The Hearing Journal.

If you have any other questions, please stop by the Reference Desk for assistance or call 389-4204. You may also e-mail your questions to Reference, using the Research Question? link on our Web page. Additionally, I am available for consultation; please do not hesitate to contact me.

Prepared by
Linda Neyer
Reference Librarian
Health Science/Sciences Specialist
Harvey A. Andruss Library
Ph. 389-4801
lneyer@bloomu.edu
September, 2004

Updated 9/21/04