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Joint Medical Program Library Resources: Articles

Find the Full Article from a Citation

Shortcuts:

In database search results, click the Get it at UC icon Get it at UC button to check for an online copy of the article.

Search PubMed, Embase, UC Library Search, Google Scholar, or another appropriate article database by article title, then click Get it a UC.

Example citation for JMP orientation session:

Police Violence, Use of Force Policies, and Public Health. Obasogie, Osagie K; Newman, Zachary. American Journal of Law & Medicine, 2017. 43(2-3):279-295.

 

Structuring Your Search

It may be useful to have a structure to help guide you when searching. 

When you formulate a research question, consider these elements:

  • Phenomenon: What happened?
  • Subject or Population: Who did it?
  • Time: When did it happen?
  • Location: Where did it happen?
  • Cause or Motivation: Why did it happen?
  • Process: How did it happen?

Note: It is possible that not all of the above elements will be appropriate for your search topic.

PICO is another popular way to structure a search.
PICO stands for:

  • Patient or Population;
  • Intervention;
  • Comparison or Control;
  • Outcome.

Worksheet: Developing an Efficient Search Strategy Using PICO (docx): A  fillable form that provides a PICO example and prompts you to document synonyms and MeSH headings.

Embase has a PICO search form to guide you.

SPIDER is a search structure used in qualitative research. SPIDER stands for:

  • Sample;
  • Phenomenon of Interest;
  • Design;
  • Evaluation;
  • Research Type.

Once you have a search strategy, you can try the Polyglot Search tool, which helps to translate a PubMed search into the correct syntax for several other databases, including Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and more.

Core Public Health Article Databases

Selected Additional Databases

The Guide to Public Health Databases has many more databases you might find useful.

Yet more databases

The UC Berkeley Library provides access to hundreds of databases in all subject areas. Check out the A-Z Databases Guide for a comprehensive list. Once at this page, you can narrow by subject or format type.