Instruction Librarian: Off-Campus Dietetics Interns

Wherever you are located, James White Library can provide services and resources to assist you with your research needs. As a registered student of Andrews University, you will have been given an Andrews University Username and Password. Once activated, these will enable you to search the Library's licensed online databases.

Electronic books are included in a Library Catalog search, but you may also search e-book databases separately through the database link. Books may be read online or downloaded for a short term loan.

Google Scholar is the academic part of the Google search engine. Be sure to set your preferences to James White Library to take advantage of the links to our full-text journals.

EndNote software helps you manage research sources and integrate them into MS Word. Downloading is free to AU students from the Library EndNote page.

Search strategy development is an important part of research. Here are some important steps in the process.

1. Defining the Topic - Once a broad topic has been chosen, limit by selecting a facet to study such as location, population group, treatment, etc.
   Example: How does dietary fiber affect hypertension in senior citizens?
2. Keywords - Identify the key terms in the topic statement or question.
   Example: fiber, hypertension, senior citizens
3. Related Terms - Brainstorm for words that relate to each of the keywords (synonyms, broader or narrower terms).
   Example: senior citizens is related to elderly
4. Truncation and Phrases - Truncation involves the use of the * symbol after a word stem to retrieve variant endings of the word; quotation marks can be used to search by phrase rather than by individual word.
   Example: diet* retrieves diet, diets, dieting, dietetic, and dietary, etc.
   Example: "dietary fiber" retrieves the exact phrase rather than dietary and fiber listed separately
   
5. Boolean Operators - AND, OR, and NOT are the words which tell the computer how to combine the search terms. AND retrieves both search terms; OR retrieves either search term; NOT eliminates a search term.
   Example:   Hypertension AND fiber retrieves items with both terms
                     Senior OR elderly retrieves items with either term
                     Hypertension NOT fiber eliminates items with the term fiber
   
   

Subject Guides list databases on a subject area. CIDP is interdisciplinary, so databases on a variety of subjects (Business, Education, Behavioral Science, etc.) may be needed. How to Search Databases has links to PDF guides, organized by database provider.

Periodicals A-Z lists the Library's magazine and journal subscriptions, both paper and online. Click on Articles/Databases and then Periodicals A-Z. Put the name of the journal or magazine in the search box. For more information, consult the guides below.

Librarians are here to help you. Use the Ask-A-Librarian electronic reference service to ask us a question. You can also make an appointment for a consultation if you will be in the area, or contact the Information Desk by phone (269-471-3283).

For more information about the Library, see the Library Primer tutorial.

Interlibrary loan is a service offered to University students, faculty, and staff for the purpose of acquiring research materials to support their curricular needs. The requestor must have a currently validated Andrews University ID and be a JWL user in good standing.