Reference materials
include dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, atlases, directories, handbooks,
and manuals. They can serve several functions in nursing research:
- provide background
information for refining a topic (e.g., encyclopedias, dictionaries).
- provide contacts
with specialists in your area of research (e.g., directories).
- provide factual
information to support your research (e.g., statistics).
- provide data
essential to your research (e.g., drug information).
Various reference
materials are available in print at ODU Library or in libraries in your
area. You may identify them by browsing appropriate call number areas
(e.g., RT for Nursing) in the reference stacks, or by searching the Subject
Headings in the online catalog (e.g., Medicine--Dictionaries, Nursing--Handbooks).
Many reference
resources are available online. Examples of these resources are:
For links to many
reference resources in health and medicine on the Web, use the Subject Guide for "Nursing and Allied Health" from the library's Web site.
Several of our databases offer entries from reference sources.
system provides entries from encyclopedias, evidence based health reports, health report/fact sheets, and reference books. Although it is consumer-oriented, it is a good place to get some background information.
