SPH Orientation & Resources
Orientation to the Health Sciences Library for SPH Faculty, Staff, and Students.
Start Here
-
Guide to Getting Started with Health Sciences Library (HSL) ResourcesLearn more about how to use HSL resources and what's available to you as UW faculty, staff, or student.
Need Help?
-
Ask Us!24/7 chat assistance from librarians
Research Basics
- Always start from the library's website.
- This connects you with UW Libraries subscription resources.
- Without this step, you will hit more paywalls.
- More on how to connect to resources off-campus.
- Ordering Articles not within the UW Libraries' Collections
- Formulate a research question.
- Search at least three databases: See the Public Health Toolkit and more resources below
- Search the grey literature: Public Health Toolkit - Journals, News, and Grey Literature sections
- Use a citation manager.
- UW Libraries Search (find books, journals, and more)
- Writing Resources
Scholarly Literature Databases
-
PubMed Guide PubMed is a major index to articles covering all aspects of medicine.
-
Embase Guide Embase is a database of biomedical and pharmaceutical journals and conference proceedings.
-
Web of Science Guide Web of Science is a citation index for the sciences, social sciences, and arts and humanities.
-
CINAHL Complete Guide CINAHL contains literature in nursing and allied health disciplines.
-
Global Health Database Guide Global Health Database contains global public health research and practice, including abstracts of journals, reports, books and conferences.
-
Google Scholar Condense your search and connect Google Scholar (a search engine, not a database) with the UW to avoid paying to read full articles.
-
More database guides Learn how to use other health sciences databases with these guides.
-
Consider specialty databases Sort the A-Z Databases List by Subject to find research from a Business, Education, etc. perspective.
-
Interlibrary Loan (ILL)Request articles or books not within the UW Libraries Collections for free.
Books
-
Public Health BooksCurated list of books focused on public health.
-
UW Libraries SearchSearch resources owned by the UW Libraries. How to filter for ebooks or print books.
-
Recommend a PurchaseFor example: recommend the library purchase an ebook or subscribe to an ejournal. Please note: The library may not be able to purchase due to budget constraints and/or what publishers make available to libraries.
News Sources
-
News GuideIncludes Ethnic Press.
Grey Literature Sources
Research through an inclusive lens requires searching for and centering the voices of Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC).
- Search Google (Advanced Search)
- Using domain names
- Grey lit databases
Data Sources
Evaluate the Evidence
-
Guide to Becoming a Savvy Information ConsumerHow to evaluate what you find to ensure it is quality information you can rely on.
-
CASP ChecklistsHelpful checklists for evaluating journal articles.
-
Comedic Take on Research Comic strip by kris straub. Alt text: 1st panel: person sitting at a computer says, "i've heard from the rhetoric from both sides... time to do my own research on the real truth". 2nd panel: Google search window with search keywords "hotly debated topic" and 80,000 results with first result titled "Literally the first link that agrees with what you already believe" and description "Completely supports your viewpoint without challenging it in any way". The second link title is "Another link" and the description is partially cutoff but says "Don't worry about this one". 3rd panel: person sitting at computer now has sunglasses on, which they have tilted down to look at the computer screen, and the person is saying "...jackpot".
Inclusive Research Resources
Social justice includes research through an inclusive lens that centers communities.
As you are conducting your research, keep these questions in mind -
- Have you spoken over or for historically excluded communities rather than listening to the issues the community wants to address?
- Have you sought out research from diverse perspectives? Think about race, ability, gender identity, etc.
- Have you accounted for the impacts of racism over time? E.g., structural racism and economic/social injustice methods, such as redlining and creating unequal access to resources like education, food & healthcare.
Learn more from
Venkateswaran N, Feldman J, Hawkins S, et al. Bringing an Equity-Centered Framework to Research: Transforming the Researcher, Research Content, and Practice of Research Research Triangle Park (NC): RTI Press; 2023 Jan.
Guides
-
Citational JusticeGuide to citational justice and politics in the health sciences
-
Equity in Evidence SynthesisGuide to an overview of equity and health equity in literature & systematic reviews and other evidence synthesis projects
Books
-
Addressing Issues of Systemic Racism During Turbulent TimesJennifer T. Butcher and Wilbert C. Baker, 2022
-
Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous PeoplesLinda Tuhiwai Smith, 2021
-
Our Voices: A Guide to Citing Personal Experience and Interviews in ResearchA set of guidelines as a practical tool for critical, feminist, and anti-racist pedagogy in citing personal lived experiences of people and communities
-
Health Sciences Books - Diversity & InclusionA-Z one-click access to select books centering on health equity
Articles & News
-
Ethnic PressGuide to news and press listed by location and ethnicity in Washington State, the Pacific Northwest, the U.S., and Canada.
-
Indigenous-Centered FrameworksOré, C. E., Loerzel, E., Marziale, E., & Parker, M. (2025). Developing Indigenous-Centered Healing, Health, and Wellness Frameworks to Strengthen Indigenous Health Systems, Decolonize Public Health, and Achieve Health Equity. American journal of public health, 115(5), 726–731.
Student Orientation
-
Public Health ToolkitFamiliarize yourself with these resources that are curated to help with Public Health research!
-
Printing On CampusMore info about printing on campus.
Get Help
-
Ask Us!24/7 assistance from librarians.
- Email Nikki and/or schedule a meeting with Nikki to discuss your project and needs.
Course Resources
Search Course Reserves:
Faculty & Staff Orientation
Course Assistance
-
Plan for the Public Health Librarian to Teach in ClassSchedule a meeting with or email Nikki to discuss your course and expectations for in person or virtual course instruction.
-
Add a Librarian to your Canvas CourseInstructions for adding a Librarian to Canvas.
Assigned Materials
-
Course Reserves InfoMore info about course reserves and how to find them.
-
Course Reserve RequestRequest that items all students in a course are required to read be placed on Reserve. Electronic access is prioritized over print.
-
Streaming Media Reserve RequestRequest that items all students in a course are required to watch be placed on Reserve. Streaming is prioritized over discs.
Research Assistance
-
Database GuidesGuides to searching popular health sciences scholarly literature databases.
- Email Nikki and/or schedule a meeting with Nikki to discuss your research and the level of support she can provide.
-
Ask Us!24/7 assistance from librarians.
-
Systematic ReviewsLearn more about what is required to conduct a systematic review.
-
ORCIDClaim your persistent digital identifier that you own and control.
-
Grant ResourcesGuide by the UW Health Sciences Library.
Writing & Publishing
Reading
-
CASP ChecklistsHelpful checklists for evaluating journal articles.
-
Intro to Strategic ReadingUW Libraries module on learning to efficiently read research and scholarly writing
-
Enough is enough: When can I stop researching?Blog by Katie Holmes, Beryl Ivey Library at Brescia University College.
Writing
-
How to Write a Literature ReviewStep-by-step guidance for writing a literature review with helpful Download Word/Google blue button templates (others are ads) by Scribbr.
-
How to Write a PosterBasics of preparing a poster by University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health.
-
Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)Use search to locate specific resources for writing assignments such as annotated bibliographies and research proposals. Browse by section such as General Writing and Graduate Writing for overall guidance.
-
HSL Writer's GuideWriter's guide for health sciences researchers.
-
Odegaard Writing & Research CenterOnline appointments available, supporting UW writers and researchers through high-quality, conversation-based peer learning
Citations
-
APA Style GuideHealth Sciences Library guide to APA citation style
-
Citation Management ToolsCitation managers remove much of the work of manually writing and reordering citations. This guide will help you select from three free options the UW supports.
-
Citational JusticeGuide to citational justice and politics in the health sciences.
-
Avoiding PlagiarismGuide by Scribbr.
Publishing
-
Publishing ResourcesLearn more about publishing in the health sciences. Includes author discounts for publishing open access and tools for negotiating with publishers.
-
Connect with CollaboratorsGuide to finding collaborators and networking.
-
Author Impact FactorGuide to impact factors.
Design & Visualization
-
Data VisualizationGuide to data visualization guidelines, tools, and resources.
-
Poster Design Tips VideoScholarly Snippets 30-minute YouTube video, "Design to Impress: Poster Design Tips".
