Subject Research guide
NUTRITION

Find Books | Find Articles | Reference | Statistics and Data | Other Resources | Internet Resources | Evaluating | Citing

Contact

Nancy Henry
Health Sciences Librarian
e-mail: nih1@psu.edu
phone: 814-865-3713

Top 5 Resources

Books: The Cat
Journal Articles:
PubMed and CAB Abstracts
Encyclopedia:
Gale Virtual Reference
Statistics:
NCHS: National Center for Health Statistis

Related Guides

Find Books

Use The CAT for finding books owned by Penn State.

CAT Search Tips: The CAT is the list of what is owned by Penn State Libraries. Go to the Browse function if you are looking for a specific title or author (type last name first). Go to the Keyword function and combine terms to search on a topic then use the subject headings from relevant books for additional search terms. Write down the call number and location for any book you want. For more detailed searching information go to the Quick Guide to the CAT.

Suggested CAT Search Terms: Search for information on a disease (i.e. cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, eating disorders), broad concepts (i.e. dietary supplements, food habits, functional foods, nutraceuticals, obesity, vitamins, lipids, omega-3 fatty acids) or a specific vitamin, mineral, or dietary supplement (i.e. vitamin c, Ginkgo Biloba).

Call Numbers: Nutrition information is generally located in the Life Sciences Library on the 4th floor of Paterno Library. Note exceptions in call number listing that follows:

• BF – Psychology (UP location: 5th floor Paterno)
• QM – Human Anatomy
• QP – Physiology
• QR – Microbiology
• RA – Public Aspects of Medicine, Personal Health
• RB – Pathology
• RM – Therapeutics, Diet in Disease, Dietetics, Diet Therapy
• TX – Nutrition-Cookery, Home Economics, Athletes-Nutrition (UP location: 3rd floor Paterno)

Full Text Electronic Books

• MD-Consult this searchable interface allows you to access full-text medical reference books, articles, drug information, clinical practice guidelines and patient handouts.
• NCBI Bookshelf is a searchable collection of full-text biomedical books.
• NetLibrary a shared collection of electronic books brought to you by the Pennsylvania libraries.

Books Elsewhere

• NLM Gateway (National Library of Medicine) a portal that allows you to search multiple NLM database resources simultaneously.
• VEL - CIC Virtual Electronic Library provides access and mutual borrowing rights for faculty, students and research staff at the13 CIC (Big Ten universities and the University of Chicago) institution's libraries.
• WorldCat search this mega-database for books, periodicals, magazines and any other type of material cataloged by OCLC member libraries.

Libraries Borrowing Policies: Once you have the books, check them out at the nearest lending desk or self check-out station. Loan periods are usually four weeks but books can be recalled for another user, so respond promptly to library notices. For more information see the University Libraries Lending Code.

Find Articles

Article Search Tips: Finding the best articles on your topic requires a number of steps:

• Select a database from the list below.
• Enter and combine terms appropriate to your topic.
• Look at the best references you retrieve and determine the subject terms used for those articles. Then revise your search using these new terms.
• Write down or print off all pertinent information (called the 'citation') including the journal title, volume, issue number, date and page numbers.
• Explore other databases and subject terms (which may vary between databases) for more information.

Databases To Use:

Try These First if you are looking for general popular interest magazines or information to use in arguing the pros and cons of an issue for a debate assignment.

Next, try major nutrition databases to locate journal articles, book chapters and dissertations:

• MEDLINE/PubMed covers all aspects of human biology and medicine and is the premier resource for these subject areas.
• CAB Abstracts includes Nutrition Abstracts A&B, focusing on human and animal nutrition, in addition to coverage of agriculture and dairy science.
• IBIDS (Dietary Supplements Database) provides access to bibliographic citations and abstracts from published, international, and scientific literature on dietary supplements.
• Biological Abstracts is the premier database for all biology. Especially strong microbiology.
• AGRICOLA a core agriculture database that includes nutrition information.
• Dissertation Abstracts (dissertations) includes dissertations from most U.S. institutions.
• Web of Science (cited references) search for new articles which cite an older article.

Nutrition research and dietetic practice integrates knowledge from multiple disciplines, so you may want to expand your search for information by searching other science related resources or clicking on one of the "Related Guides" available off these pages.

Get the full text: Once you find the citation in a database, try the button to see if Penn State has the electronic or print version of the article you need. If the electronic version is available, it will appear as the first link on the Get it! menu. If the article is not available electronically, click on The CAT link to automatically search our catalog and see if Penn State has a print copy. If no other copy is available, you can use the ILLiad link to request it from another library.

Already have a citation? Use Citation Linker to see if Penn State has it online or in print!

Reference Materials

Many reference publications are available in print in the Life Sciences Library and online full-text.

• Bowes and Church's food values of portions commonly used - a standard print resource for locating food composition tables.
• Gale Virtual Reference Library contains searchable full-text of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources in many different subject fields.
• Healthy People 2010 identifies the most significant preventable national health threats and a framework of health objectives to reduce these threats.
• Online Reference Sources - Penn State University Libraries links to useful reference sources.
• USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 18 - you can look up the nutrient content of 7,293 different foods.
• WHO: Global Burden of Disease and Risk Factors a definitive, scientific account of the health conditions of the world.

Statistics and Data

Community Assessments: A Quick Guide to Data Sources (Penn State Guide) access data sources which provide specific health information at the county, state, and national levels.

Health Data and Statistics links to resources to support data collection.

NCHS: National Center for Health Statistics a rich source of U.S. health statistics information, compiled by the Nation's principle health statistics agency. Try the Fast Stats A-Z for quick access to statistics on important public health issues.

Penn State Libraries' Social Sciences Statistics and Data Web Page an extensive guide to subject specific data and statistical information resources.

Statistical Abstract of the United States produced by the U.S. Census Bureau, this authoritative resource provides a comprehensive summary of statistics, on the social, political and economic organization of the United States.

Other Resources

The Literature Review: a Few Tips on Conducting It - advice from the University of Toronto Writing Center.

Write an Annotated Bibliography - a guide to writing an annotated bibliography from East Carolina University, Joyner Library.

Internet Guides

You can look for Nutrition information on the Internet by using one of the 'guides' listed below, or by using an Internet Search Engine. Usually the search engines are most appropriate when you have a narrow, specific information need. If you are just looking for information in a general topic area, a subject guide is most appropriate.

American Dietetic Association - access career, accreditation, publications, advocacy programs, professional development information and more from nation's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals.

Center for Science in the Public Interest - a consumer-advocacy organization, with offices in Washington, D.C. and Ottawa, that focuses on health and nutrition issues.

Food and Nutrition Information Center - provides credible, accurate, and practical resources for nutrition and health professionals, educators, government personnel and consumers.

CDC- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agency responsible for developing programs to prevent and control the leading causes of disease and disability in the United States.

Department of Health and Human Services is the U.S. Government's principal agency for protecting the health of all American citizens.

MedlinePlus will direct you to extensive authoritative consumer health information on over 700 diseases and conditions.

National Institutes of Health is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research.

NLM Gateway (National Library of Medicine) a portal that allows you to search multiple NLM database resources simultaneously.

Nutrition.gov is brought to you by the National Agriculture Library to provide easy access to consumer oriented food and nutrition government resources.

Vegetarian Resource Group is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public on vegetarianism and the interrelated issues of health, nutrition, ecology, ethics, and world hunger.

World Health Organization is the United Nations specialized agency for health, with a mission of addressing issues related to the health globally.

Evaluating Resources for Content

To evaluate print sources and web sites, you should ask a series of questions concerning the source’s currency, authority, validity, intended audience and bias. See this How to Evaluate Information site for details.

Citing Your Sources

When using information from another source you must give credit to the original author or you are plagiarizing. You give credit by citing the source. Make sure your citation contains everything you would need to backtrack and find the information again. It is best to pick one citation style and be consistent. Check this Quick Guide to Citation Styles for details and format.

Plagiarism, whether you copy a paragraph from a book or cut and paste someone else's words from an e-mail, is a violation of Penn State's academic integrity policy. See this Statement on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty.