This document provides an overview and objectives for a library class on researching biochemistry topics. It introduces students to the library's resources and services including its large collection, research databases, study rooms, and printing and copying services. It reviews how to locate books, journals, and peer-reviewed articles. It also explains how to distinguish between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources and how to perform effective database searches using Boolean logic and citation searching.

1. Welcome to Your Library
BIOL 4315
COMD 6361

2. Class Objectives
1. Able to understand and navigate Library’s web site and locate research
databases.
2. Understand what Peer Reviewed articles are and know how to locate
them.
3. Able to distinguish between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources.
4. Establish a RefWorks user account and be able to import 3 sources from
two different databases.
5. Understand how to formulate a computer database search.
6. Understand the value “Citation Searching” and be able to conduct one.

3. Quick Tour of Services

4. Your Library
• 2 million volumes
• 15,000 serials
• 250 databases
• 36 individual group study rooms
• 3 Branch Libraries
•Arch/Art
•Music
•Optometry

5. Services
• Remote access– CougarNet account
• Full text Journal articles
• Cougar One Card
• Cougar-net account
• VPN account
• Inter Library Loan [online]
• Library Provides 500 free pages of prints
• IT Central Site also 500 free prints (Library Basement –
own entrance)
• Free Photocopying or you can email or save on a flash
drive

6. Locating Books/Journals
• Books
• OneSearch & Catalog
– Books, E-books , media, Theses, Dissertations
• StatRef & Access Pharmacy Databases
• Databases
• Articles in scholarly journals
• Patents, Technical Reports,

8. Peer Review

9. Peer Reviewed Articles
Other experts in the field reads and reviews
the article to assess professional merit
• Stated in preface pages of the Journal
• Contains list of cited references
• Many databases provide a “peer review” or “scholarly
Journal” filtering option
• Popular works, such as magazine and newspaper
articles, are written for the general public– and are not
Peer Reviewed.

10. Types of Research Literature

11. How to Distinguish Between
Primary
• Secondary
• Tertiary
•

12. Primary Sources
• Source material that is closest to the original research.
• A source with direct personal knowledge of the events being
described. It serves as an original source of information about the
topic. A person with direct knowledge of a situation, or a document
created by such a person.
• E.G. Case Reports, Clinical Trials, Original reporting articles…1st
person

13. Secondary Sources
• Cite, comment on, or build upon primary sources.
• Involve generalization, analysis, synthesis, interpretation, or
evaluation of the original information. If an article discusses old
documents to derive a new conclusion, it is considered to be a
primary source for the new conclusion
• E.G. Review Articles, meta-analysis [most peer review articles
report new findings and thus are considered primary resources]

14. Tertiary Sources
• More peripheral
• Bibliographies, library catalogs, directories,
reading lists and survey articles.
• Compilation of data…
• Longer lead time in publishing..years rather than months

15. Boolean Searching

16. When Formulating Your Database Search on a Topic
Think Boolean
Drug Resistant Organisms—especially Malaria and Tuberculosis and in India, Asia or Africa
India
Malaria Drug Resistan*
or or
Tuberculosis Asia
or
1700 or
Mycobacterium Africa
2600 3000

17. Think Boolean
Drug Resistant Organisms—especially Malaria and Tuberculosis and in India,
Asia or Africa
Drug Resistan*
Malaria
or
Tuberculosis
Or 12 India or Asia
Mycobacterium Or Africa

18. Citation Searching

19. Citation Searching
Assumed subject relevancy between the original
paper and the references that paper cites
e.g. Palinopsia by Bender, M.B. in Brain Volume: 91 Issue:
2 Pages: 321-338 Published: June 1968
– If we look up the list of references at the end of Charbardes
article they may be useful --but the problem is that they will all be
older than 1968….. And I want current articles on the topic?
– So I can look for articles since 1968 who “cited” this article by
doing a “citation search”
– And we find the latest article was published in March 2013

20. Citation Searching
Traditional Search Citation Search
2011 2010
2013 2010
2009
1968 1968
1960
1963 1959 1954

21. Navigating UH Library
Web Pages

23. BCHS Biochemistry Library Class Guide

24. Questions?