Online Databases and Tutorials
If you like to do your own searching, here are some resources to help you find research studies, full text articles, reports, analyses and other data. If you have questions about searching or your results, Ask a Librarian.
Search tip: If you are not finding information on Alzheimer's, try removing the apostrophe and search on Alzheimer.
Tutorials
Understanding research
Published
research can be hard to follow. These links from the National
Library of Medicine can simplify the way you read a published study
and help you find out what's in a research study, how to read
it, and how to understand the medical terminology used in many studies.
| |
Tips for reading research studies:
Studies are usually divided by abstract, introduction, methods, results/findings, and discussion/conclusion. Consider these questions when reading a research study:
- Are you or your family member like the people
who are studied? If you're not, then a comparison may not
be helpful.
- How large is the study? Bigger is often better.
- Is the study “cross-sectional,”
meaning that it was correlated among groups of participants
at a single point in time or “longitudinal,” meaning
that it followed individuals over time?
- What did the research find and is it relevant
to you?
- Do the conclusions suggest more research is
needed?
- Need more information? Ask
a Librarian.
|
|
Databases
WorldCat
http://www.worldcat.org
WorldCat is a global network of libraries with an online catalog of
tens of millions of records of books, DVDs, CDs and articles. Find
Alzheimer's materials in libraries near you through WorldCat. These
links will help you:
| |
Tips for searching WorldCat:
- Search by title or topic
- Find a copy in a library near you
- If it's not at your library, search ours:
Alzheimer's Association Green-Field Library at 60601
- Visit How To Borrow
- Need more information? Ask a Librarian.
|
|
PubMed
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
PubMed is a free searchable database from the National Library of
Medicine in Bethesda, Md. It includes millions of citations from medical
and science journals back to 1948. It is where peer-reviewed
research is collected and indexed.
Most citations have abstracts
that provide information on what the research study is about. In some
cases, the full text of the study on Alzheimer's disease and other
topics is available.
| |
Tips for searching PubMed:
- PubMed
Help - to learn how to search, get a full-text article,
save your searches, and make the best use of the database.
- Can't think of the search term? Use the MeSh Database of controlled vocabulary.
- Combine medical terms in a string: Alzheimer's disease anesthesia.
- Limit by year, full text and more options through Advanced Search
- Need more information? Ask a Librarian.
|
|
PubMed Central
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/
PubMed Central is where to find the full-text of biomedical
and life sciences journal articles for free. Search your topic then
look for Free article, FREE in PubMed Central, or the
publisher's icon.
Clinical Trials Index
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
The U.S. government hosts a comprehensive online database of medical
research on all diseases at ClinicalTrials.gov.
A search box on alz.org's Clinical
Trials Index makes it easy to search the database for studies
related to Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. Find studies in
any U.S. state or Canadian province.
CDC Wonder
http://wonder.cdc.gov
Visitors are often looking for local statistical data on Alzheimer's
disease. CDC Wonder provides statistics from the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. To find Alzheimer's disease
mortality statistics for states and counties, search 'fill-in-the-blank'
pages. Follow the onscreen prompts to move data from the left-hand-side
to the right.
| |
Tips for searching CDC Wonder:
- In step #2, 'Search' the name of the state or county
- In step #3, choose all ages between 65 – 85+(hold down Ctrl key to select multiple fields)
- In step #4, click on 'Search' tab and type alzheimer's
- Then choose G30 (ICD code)
- When you are ready, click Send.
|
|
Searchable Public Databases
from RePORT (Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool)
http://report.nih.gov/searchable_public_databases/index.aspx
The RePORT Web site from the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) provides access to reports, data, and analyses of NIH research
activities including information on expenditures and the results of
NIH-supported research. Such searchable public databases as Science.gov,
Research.gov, Community of Science, RePORT, CRISP, ClinicalTrials.gov,
PubMed, and PubMed Central, are also available here.
Plain Language Medical Dictionary
The Plain Language Medical Dictionary is sponsored by University
of Michigan Taubman Health Sciences Library. Click on the drop down
menu to browse the list of high-level medical terms and search the
dictionary.
|
| News | Events | Press | Contact
