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Physical Therapy

 

Riverpoint Campus Library Basics

  • Search the EWU Catalog, WSU's Griffin Catalog, or Summit for books/videos.

     

     

  • Search EWU Databases for articles and article citations.  (Click here to set up your own personal password or PIN for off-campus access to EWU Databases.)   Note:  EWU students may also access WSU Databases while on campus at Riverpoint.

     

     

  • Having trouble locating the full text of a particular article? Look here to see if EWU carries the journal in which your article appears.  (If you are on campus, you may also follow the instructions here to see if WSU carries the journal you're looking for.)

     

     

  • Request an Interlibrary Loan via ILLiad when the article you need is not available locally or online. (Click here to set up your ILLiad account first.)  Note:  ILLiad is provided to both EWU and WSU students at Riverpoint.

     

     

  • Use RefWorks to collect, organize, and format your research references - makes APA and other citation styles a snap.

     

     

     

Basic Tools for Searching Bibliographic Databases

  • Boolean Operators

    These are the connecting terms -- and, or and not -- that allow you to arrange your search terms with logic and precision.  Use and to narrow your search, or to broaden your search, and not to exclude irrelevant records from your search.  Click here for a tutorial on Boolean Operators.

     

     

  • Nesting

    Nesting is an extension of Boolean logic.  You must always remember to "nest" or group synonymous or related terms linked by the or operator.  Normally you use parentheses to nest such terms; alternatively some databases allow you to simply type the terms you want to nest together -- joined by the or operator -- in the same search box.  Click here for a further explanation. 

     

     

  • Phrase Searching

    Most databases require that you enclose a phrase in quotation marks if you want to search on it as a phrase.  Click here for more.

     

     

  • Truncation

    This is a handy way to cover multiple variations of a search term without having to type in each full-length term; you shorten your term to the first few relevant letters and then add the truncation character.  In most databases the truncation character is the asterisk (*) but in some cases it may be a question mark (?) or dollar sign ($) or some other character.  (Check the help section of a particular database to find out which character is used.)  Example:  adolescen* would find articles containing the terms "adolescence" or "adolescent" or "adolescents."  Click here for more. 

     

     

  • Controlled Vocabulary

    These terms are sometimes referred to as descriptors, subject headings, or subject terms.  They are standardized terms developed as part of the structure of a particular database and used to identify the content of each item in the database in a consistent way.  An actual human reviews each item going into a database and assigns the appropriate term or terms.  Controlled vocabulary offers another tool for zeroing in on those needles in the database haystack. Click here for more.

     

     

     

Key Databases for Physical Therapy Research

  • Medline or PubMed

    Comprehensive index to all aspects of medicine, covering over 4,800 journals, back to 1965; PubMed includes expanded biomedical coverage back to 1950.

     

     

  • CINAHL with Full Text

    Comprehensive database for nursing and allied health, with full text articles from around 325 journals and trade magazines, and indexing to over 2700 titles, back to 1981. (A few titles are indexed even earlier, back to 1937.) Also includes citations to books, dissertations, and conference proceedings.

     

     

  • ProQuest Health and Medical

    Full text articles from hundreds of medical and pharmaceutical journals and magazines, along with indexing from MEDLINE, the most comprehensive biomedical index.

     

     

  • Cochrane Library

    Portal to access 6 databases for evidence-based medicine. Includes: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (called Cochrane Reviews); DARE: Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (Other Reviews); Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Clinical Trials); Cochrane Methodology Register (Methods Studies); Health Technology Assessment Database (Technology Assessment); and NHS Economic Evaluation Database (Economic Evaluations). Cochrane Reviews are available full text back to the mid 1990s, while others are indexes.

     

     

  • Physical Therapy Journals (Ovid)

    Full text articles from a dozen physical therapy journals, such as Neurology and Spine.

     

     

     

Links of Interest for Physical Therapy Research

Stuck, stymied, baffled, or bewildered? Visit or call the Riverpoint Campus Library, or contact Jonathan Potter by email or at 509-368-6557.

 

updated 5/5/08


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