Research
Guide: Access to Free Scholarly
Information
Bastyr University Library
May 2006
The volume of scholarly information has been
increasing on the Internet. The following are
tips for locating free journals, articles and
other useful research, with an emphasis on
complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
Due to licensing restrictions, private
institutions such as the Bastyr University
Library, cannot allow individuals other than
students, faculty and staff to use their
databases and online journals; however, public
libraries and state colleges must, as part
of their mission, allow access to the general
public.
Searching the Web for Scholarly Research
For a comprehensive search, use at least
three major search engines; the overlap is
only about 20%. For a current list of the
best ones, refer to www.searchenginewatch.com.
Use a specialty search engine, such as www.scirus.com,
which accesses more in-depth information
and does not index commercial Web sites.
Refer to www.searchenginewatch.com for
a comprehensive list.
Go directly to the source. For example,
if you want statistics on type 2 diabetes,
search the American Association ofDiabetes homepage.
For statistics, search the best governmental
resource, the Centers for Disease Controland
Prevention Web site, www.cdc.gov.
The best information often lies in the “invisible
web.” Use the Advanced Search options
, offered by major search engines, in order
to dig deeper. For example, “Limit
to” (Acrobat) PDF format. Many studies
are published in this format and may not
appear in the first few pages of your search
results unless you select this limit. Advanced
search options will focus your search and
increase the relevancy of your results. Features
vary depending on the search engine.
On the Advanced Search Page, limit
your results to a domain, such as .gov, .edu,
.org. You can also eliminate domains by selecting NOT
.com. This is particularly helpful for
botanical searches.
Use specific, unique terms rather than
general ones. For example, search for diabetes
mellitus type 2 instead of diabetes
Enclose phrases in quotations or use the
phrase box.
Databases Accessible through the Web
MEDLINE (www.pubmed.gov),
the primary international biomedical database,
continues to add free full text. To
search for these documents click on Limits (below
the search box), and select Links to
Free Full Text.. Select the Complementary
Medicine subset for citations pertaining
to complementary and alternative medicine
(CAM).
Agricola (http://agricola.nal.usda.gov/),
the National Agriculture Database, encompasses
all aspects of agriculture, including nutrition,
environmental science and education. It is
primarily a citation database but contains
links to thousands of free full-text documents
and includes articles, book chapters, short
reports and reprints.
HerbMed (http://www.herbmed.org/)
is produced by the Alternative Medicine Foundation. It
contains links to the evidence-based data underlying
the use of herbs for health. This database
is not updated as frequently as the professional
version, HerbMedPro, that is available for
a modest fee. See the HerbMed Web site for
details. To determine when the database was
last updated click on About HerbMed.
ERIC (http://www.eric.ed.gov/),
from the Education Resources Information Center,
is the premier database for education literature,
with journal citations and free, full text.
It is useful for research having an education
component, such as teaching cooking skills
to low-income people.
Free Journals Directories
Directory of Open Access Journals (www.doaj.org)
Journals listed must meet quality control standards.
Over 600 journals are searchable by topic.
Click on Search Articles on the left-hand
toolbar.
Tips for Accessing Free Scholarly
Research in Major Cities
Public libraries, including King County
(www.kcls.org)
and Seattle Public (www.spl.org)
have research-oriented databases, such as ProQuest
Direct, InfoTrac and Expanded
Academic Index. Call a reference librarian
in your city for details.
Explore the public academic institutions
in your area, including community colleges.
In most cases, you will have free access
to databases and journals on site. Colleges
with programs in nursing, environmental science,
biology, psychology, nutrition and allied
sciences are likely to have relevant resources.
In order to use your time efficiently, search
the online catalog prior to visiting the
campus.
Ask a librarian for help in running searches.
Although he or she may not be a subject expert,
librarians are adept at navigating databases
and the Web and can help you identify search
terms and formulate search strategies.
Inquire about interlibrary loan services. Many
public libraries will order articles for a nominal
amount or for free.
