- Primary Sources
Use these databases to find scholarly articles, research reports, essays, and more. Some databases may
include primary sources, statistics, website links with abstracts and other media formats.
- Academic Search Complete
- American Heart Association Journals
- Full text of subscribed-to journals only. To access the full text, click "Home" to the right of the desired title and then click "Archives."
- BioMedCentral Free on the Web
- Indexing and full text of peer-reviewed journal articles related to biology and medicine. More
Plus with Full Text
- Consumer Health Complete
- Consumer-oriented health content; full text for 200+ health reference books and encyclopedias. (not integrated with other EBSCO databases) More...
- Health Sciences
- A full-text collection of social studies of health, public policy, health services & administration, health education, and community/public health
nursing. SAGE More...
- Health Source:
Consumer Edition (Includes Medical Dictionary)
- Health Source:
Nursing/Academic Edition (Includes Medical Dictionary)
- Full text of selected nursing journals; access to citations, abstracts, tables of contents, and references of hundreds of scientific, technical, and
medical journals. Ovid More...
- MedLine with Full Text
- Mayo Clinic Publications
- ~4,6000 articles published yearly in biomedical journals.
- PLOS ONE Open Access
- "...features reports of original research from all disciplines within science and medicine." More... (Indexed in Academic Search Complete, PubMed Central and several other databases, so it can be searched in a database or independently.)
- PubMed Central
- Access to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature. Free
on the Web More...
- Science Direct Databases (Health & Life
- Full-text scientific database with articles from 2,500+ peer-reviewed journals and book chapters from 14,000+ book titles. Covers science, technology
and medicine. Includes authoritative titles from the core scientific literature.
Notes: User Guide with step-by-step instructions
and illustrations (pdf, 12 pages) • Quick
Reference Guide (pdf, 8 pages) • Image Searching: Quick
Start, Search Tips • Customizing • Multimedia
Components • Tutorial Menu • More...
with Full Text
- 520+ full text sports and sports medicine journals. EBSCO
Why include statistics?
Depending upon the type of paper you are writing, statistics may add significance, importance, and/or interest. Relevant statistics may support the
reason why you chose the topic or indicate to the reader why they should read your paper.
Where to look?
To find statistics search all types of resources: government sites, organization and associations sites, databases, health and sport databases and sites.
Watch for references to primary sources as you search for statistical data.
Government Publications and Web Sites
Search suggestion: your concept(s) AND site:.gov
Organization and Association Publication and Web Sites
Search suggestion: your concept AND statistic AND (association OR organization)
Health, Medical, Nutrition and Sports Web Sites
ORU Databases - General and Subject Specific
Use the subject index or thesaurus to browse
your topic, find related terms and identify terms to narrow and/or expand your topic. Try searching with percent, data, statistic*, etc.
ORU Journals - Specific Titles or Subject Related
Go to the Journals List and type
a subject or keyword to get a list of journals. Select a journal title. Search your topic within a journal. Or, browse the journal table of contents for
reports, surveys and research project.
What to search?
Consider your thesis, identify the key terms, and then add terms
that identify statistical data. See the library guide How to Find
SR. PAPER STUDENTS - Are there date restrictions for your sources?
Specify or limit the dates. For example, when searching
the Web include the dates in your search query, such as (2013
or 2014 or 2015). Most databases and the advanced search in search engines allow you to limit to specific dates.
± See how to go from a topic to a primary source document.
A research paper on sports and exercise
and the effect on a person's health.
Evaluate your needs.
Useful statistics for this topic may include:
--the percentage of people involved in sports
--the percentage or people who participate in exercise activities
--the increase of involvement in sports or exercise activities over the past five years
--the most popular exercise activity
--age groups of those engaged in sports or exercise activities
2. Search the web, statistical books, etc.
One web result is The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Spotlight on Statistics: "Sports and Exercise?" (shown
3. Look for references to primary sources.
Paragraph two of the web page "Sports and Exercise" content (shown below) identifies that the data came from the American
Time Use Survey, which is the primary source.
Find the primary source document.
Try a web search for the American Time Use Survey. On the web pages for this survey,
the FAQ's section provides answers for or related to the five questions that
you should ask about a primary source.
Library Research Guide: How to Find Statistics
Primary source documents are original materials, such as an original study or research project. They are from the event or time period involved and provide an account of "how it was" without analysis, commentary, editing, or interpretation.
SR. PAPER STUDENTS - To identify a primary source, the source should answer the following five questions:
- Who did the study, report, or research? (individuals, organizations, etc.)
- Who or what was studied?
- What questions did the author ask? (purpose)
- What did the author do to answer the question? (method)
- What was the answer to the author's questions? (results)
Provided by Professor Scarlet Jost
To find primary sources in databases and on the Web search your topic(s) and other relevant terms.
your topic AND (research OR study) AND university
your topic AND "focus of the study"
your topic AND "purpose of this study"
your concept 1 AND your concept 2 AND (study or report)
women AND exercise AND motivation AND (study or report)
Secondary Sources -- articles, web pages, interviews, statistical data, etc.-- are accounts written after the fact and interpret primary sources. A secondary source may be a discussion of or commentary on primary source events with hindsight. They may explain, report, review, or evaluate primary source events.
alert as you begin your research. Primary sources such as studies and reports, are often referred to in journal articles, on association
Web pages, in fact sheets, and more. As you review resources such as articles, documents, and web pages, look for references to "studies," research," etc.
then use the available information to find the primary source.
For example, you may need to search for the primary source using the researcher name(s), the name
of the study, the place where the study or research was conducted, and/or some of the statistical outcome data. If a place of publication is identified, try
to find that. For example, if the research/study/report was published in a journal, search the A-to-Z Journals list for the journal title. Once you locate
the journal, search for the re
To find a primary source (report, study or published research) if you have "some" information about a report or study:
- Identify and record as much information as possible (i.e., study name, researchers, organization or university)
- Use the information and query a relevant ORU database, the A-to-Z
Journals List or the search engine to find, and then get the primary source.
- Follow the links to the full text (if available).
If no full text is available at ORU, request the item through interlibrary loan.
- SECONDARY SOURCE, Web article:
Knee Injuries in Women Linked to Motion, Nervous System Differences (In ScienceDaily,
Apr 17, 2012)
PRIMARY SOURCE listed as a reference at the end of the article:
Samuel T. Johnson, Kristof Kipp, Mark A. Hoffman. Spinal motor control differences between the sexes. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2012; DOI: 10.1007/s00421-012-2363-3
Find the PRIMARY SOURCE:
Search the Journals List for the European Journal of Applied Physiology.
Link to the database with full text.
Search within the publication: "knee injuries in women linked to motion"
- SECONDARY SOURCE, Web article:
Organic foods: Are they safer? More nutritious? (Mayo Clinic: Nutrition
and healthy eating) http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/organic-food/NU00255
"A recent study examined the past 50 years' worth of scientific articles about the nutrient content of organic and conventional foods."
NOTE: The above is not a reference to a primary source but, it is a literature review.
HPER - Periodicals & eJournals
- A-to-Z Journals List (Find journals, magazines, trade publications,
- Sample Titles Lists by Subject:
- Human Anatomy ~21
Health Sciences & Biology journals
grouped by subject. (Choose a subject, and then select from the title list.)
- Sample Titles:
- For general information see: Find...Periodicals (Journals, Magazines, etc.)
To find authoritative information on the Web try searching association Web sites.
key in your topic(s) and association or organization.
For government sites, limit the search results to government sites:
key in your topic(s) and site:.gov
For research on recreational programs try to locate professional association and organization websites, such as the YMCA.net or MBL.com.
ipl2 Subject Directory --
Provide groups of selective websites, categorized by subject. http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/
ipl2: Health and Medical Sciences
ipl2: Resources by Subject
Remember to always evaluate the your sources.
HPER - Sr. Paper Students
Be alert! As
you research, continue to add relevant terms to your search:
- Consider alternative terms, abbreviations, narrower terms,
broader terms and related terms.
- Use subject descriptors, database thesauri and article abstracts to identify additional terms and ideas.
- Watch for references to research, reports and (or) studies, which will point you to primary source documents.
Steps in A Senior Paper Article Review (PDF) by Professor Scarlet Jost
Smarthinking - Have a tutor proofread your paper and offer corrections and/or suggestions.
- Create an account through the link in D2L.
- After you create an account, to use Smarthinking login directly by going to https://services.smarthinking.com.
- Submit your paper to allow time for feedback.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
Contact ILL at 918-495-7377 or LibILL@oru.edu.
Interlibrary Loan Request Form
- Determine that the ORU Library does not own the item you need BEFORE requesting it through interlibrary loan.
- Some items are available nearby; others may take a week or more to obtain from out-of-state.
- The $2.00 per item ILL request fee for students is waived
after you attend the sr. paper LIBBI.
- You will receive an email when your item(s) is ready to pick up. (Some journal articles are available from lending
libraries in PDF format and can be emailed directly to you.)
- Pick up your items at the circulation desk.
- Submit only one request form for each article. (Note:
The form is submitted each time the submit button is used, regardless of whether the "required
fields" have been completed.
- After submitting a request, check your ORU email for the confirmation, which includes the
The NEW! Ebsco discovery tool.
An easy-to use storage and management tool that allows you to store your personal items, create bibliographies, search, and more.
See the link in the right menu for more information and some "how to" basics.
EBSCO Citations and the Personal Folder -
In an EBSCO database, such as Academic Search Complete, use the Cite link in the "Tools" menu on the right sidebar, (The "Tools" menu is only available on the item record; it is not on the results page.)
EBSCOhost DATABASES OR INTEGRATED SEARCH
The EBSCO Folder is a personal information management tool to save articles, save searches, create citations lists, write notes, and more. Create a folder then sign in to your folder. Note: Items added to the default folder are NOT saved.
For a single citation in an EBSCO database, click the article title to access the detailed article record. Click the "cite" button in the right toolbar. choose the recommended style, then copy, paste, and edit the citation to match the style requirements.
For multiple citations use the EBSCO folder:
- After you add the articles to the folder, click Folder has items at the top of the page.
In the folder:
- Click checkboxes to mark items to be cited.
- Click the Print icon (in the right toolbar).
In the Print Manager window:
- Uncheck HTML Full Text box and Search History, if showing and checked.
- Choose a Citation Format.
- Click Print (items are reformatted for printing). PrinT or cancel, then save or copy/paste/edit the citations.
Click the to link to the vendor's database descriptions.
|OneSearch - The EBSCO Integrated Search Interface