Help and FAQs

These lists are intended to provide possible sources of information.

Please determine with your instructor which sources are appropriate for your coursework.

• Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine
• Biomedical Sciences / Prerequisite
• Chiropractic Medicine
• Homeopathy
• Natural Medicine
• Naturopathy
• Nutrition and Botanicals
• Nutrition and Diet
• Professional Business Resources at the NUHS Library
• Spiritual Therapies

Top streaming videos for each program have been screened and selected by students. Click on the title to watch the video. Find the complete listings of our streaming videos on A-to-Z (select Index from gray menu to find video collections by name, look for “in Video” in title, and click on the Title List to browse programs.)

• Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine Video List
• Chiropractic Video List
• Chiropractic and Naturopathic Video List
• Chiropractic, Naturopathic and Acupuncture List
• Naturopathic List

There are many styles for citing bibliographic references. However, most citations contain the same elements, although their order and appearance may differ. If you’re familiar with one style, you can understand other styles with little difficulty.

Citations to journal articles usually contain the following: author(s), title of the article, title of the journal, volume and issue numbers, date of the journal, and the page numbers.

This is a citation for a journal article:

Beware the prolapsed disc. Lehmann OJ, et al. Br J Hosp Med 1991 Jul;46(1):52.

Citations to books usually contain the following: author(s) of the book, title of the book, place of publication, publisher, and date of publication. If the reference is to a specific chapter in a book, the citation will also contain the author(s) of the chapter, the chapter title, and page numbers.

This is a citation for a whole book:

Stryer L. Biochemistry. 2nd ed. San Francisco: WH Freeman Co., 1981.

This is a citation to a chapter in a book:

The rationale of physiotherapy in chiropractic. pp. 1-14. Jaskoviak PA, Schafer RC. In: Jaskoviak PA, Schafer RC. Applied physiotherapy: practical clinical applications with emphasis on the management of pain and related syndromes. Arlington, VA: Associated Chiropractic Academic Press, 1986.

For Scientific Format, model your paper after a recent article in a scientific journal. Most journals include a section on information for authors.

Consult a style guide such as The Chicago Manual of Style, NLM Recommended Formats for Bibliographic Citation, Scientific Style and Format, Medical Style & Format, AMA Manual of Style, or Electronic Styles. (These are located on the Reference shelves under WZ or Z.)

• EasyBib – Automatically generate a citation
• Easy Citation Generator – Automatically create your bibliographies, citations, and works cited lists in the correct format using APA, MLA, Chicago, Vancouver, or Harvard referencing styles — instantly!
• Getting Published – In-depth citation formatting

Copyright secures for the creator of a creative work the exclusive right to control making or distributing copies of a work, performing or displaying it or adapting it. Copyright does not protect ideas, thoughts or facts.

For more information on copyright, see:

• U.S. Copyright Office
• Copyright Basics (Circular 1, U.S. Copyright Office)
• Title 17, U.S. Code
• Campus Guide to Copyright Compliance

Fair use ensures that there are some types of uses that do not require permission or payment based on four (or five) factors:

Purpose and character of the use

• Is the new work merely a copy of the original?
  Not likely to be fair use!
• Is the use of the copyrighted material for nonprofit or educational purposes?
  Purposes that favor fair use: education, scholarship, research and news reporting; also non-profit rather than for-profit.

Nature of the copyrighted work

• Is the copyrighted work published or unpublished?
  Using unpublished works are less likely to be fair use. 
• Is the copyrighted work out of print?
  If so, it is more likely to be fair use.
• Is the work factual or artistic?
  Taking from a factual work is more likely to be fair use.

Amount and substantiality of the portion used

• Does the amount you use exceed a reasonable expectation?
  A smaller proportion is more likely to be fair use.
• Is the specific portion used likely to adversely affect the creator’s economic gain?
  Use of peripheral elements is more likely to be fair use.

Effect of use on the potential market for the copyrighted work

• How much does the new work differ from the original?
  The more it differs, the more likely to be fair use.
• Does the new work appeal to the same market as the original?
  If so, it is less likely to be fair use.

Transformative use

• Does the derivative work use the source work in completely new or unexpected ways?
  Transformative uses might include parody and as part of the production of new technologies and are more likely to be fair use.

For more information on fair use, see:

• Fair use (fact sheet from U.S. Copyright Office)
• Can I Use Someone Else’s Work, Can Someone Else Use Mine? (FAQs from U.S. Copyright Office)
• Copyright Registration for Derivative Works (Circular 14, U.S. Copyright Office)

Brevity
Chapter not an entire book, journal or newspaper article; chart, graph, diagram, drawing, picture more likely to be fair use.

Spontaneity
Copying should occur closely in time to the need to use copies, should not be repeatedly such as multiple trimesters and permission should be obtained as feasible, also should not copy and use same material for several different courses. Making multiple copies of various works should not substitute for purchase of books or periodicals. Seek permission when you intend to use material for commercial purposes, plan to use the material repeatedly or when you want to use a work in its entirety. Always credit the source.

Classroom Use Exemption
Provides instructor and students broad rights to perform or display works but applies only to nonprofit, in-person, classroom teaching…not online.

T.E.A.C.H. Act (Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act)
Provides some rights for online and distance learning but is much more restricted and requires meeting a lengthy list of conditions.

• Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians (Circular 21, U.S. Copyright Office)
• Exemption of Certain Performances and Displays  (17 U.S.C. $ 110(1)
• Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act of 2001
• The TEACH Act and Some Frequently Asked Questions (American Library Association)
• Exemptions and Limitations: Classroom Use, Fair Use, and More (University of Minnesota)
• Copyright Law and Public Domain (Nolo Press)
• Linking, Framing, and Inlining (Nolo Press)

Since it can be difficult to verify the credibility of internet sources, you must critically analyze each web source. Some things to keep in mind when evalulating source include:

• Author’s credentials, affiliations, and associations
• Date of publication
• Edition or revision
• Publisher
• Sources used
• Group or industry affiliations of website

At any step of the research process, you can consult a James F. Winterstein Library staff member for assistance.

There are many search engines available to utilize for your research. The most popular search engines in the U.S. are (in alphabetical order):

• Ask
• Bing
• Google
• Yahoo!

You may also find the following websites helpful in addition to search engines.

• Dogpile – Search engine aggregator for Bing, Google, and Yahoo!
• Internet Archive
• WolframAlpha

For a complete list of search engines, see Wikipedia.

Boolean Search Terms

For information on how to use boolean search terms in a search engine, please watch this video: Boolean Searching.

• EasyBib – Automatically generate a citation

For understanding a subject. The presentation may be basic or detailed, depending on the purpose and scope of the book. Most books take a year or more to be published, so they generally contain older information than journals and magazines. Use the library catalog to locate specific books or to identify the appropriate subject areas in the collection (e.g., biochemistry, pathology, physiology, pharmacology, etc.). Many books have indexes in the back, which will help you find specific information in the book.

A specific kind of reference book used for checking the definition and spelling of a word, finding synonyms, and getting a brief overview of a subject. Check a specialized dictionary for technical subjects. For example, Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary and Stedman’s Medical Dictionary are useful medical dictionaries.

Health sciences indices and databases help you find journal articles on a specific subject or by a particular author. Most indices are now available in electronic versions. To use a periodical index efficiently, first check its thesaurus, which is a list of subject terms used in the index. The most important thesaurus in our library is the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH).

The James F. Winterstein Library owns the major English language biomedical journals needed to support the NUHS curricula and many other journals are available over the Internet. Therefore, by making good use of the indices and databases in the James F. Winterstein Library, you will find sufficient information on campus to complete most assignments. However, if you do need an article that NUHS doesn’t have, you may request it by filling out an interlibrary loan request form.

For current scientific information. Most reputable scientific journals have a peer-review system. Before an article is published, it is reviewed by experts in the field.

• Journals Holdings List
  Consult this document to find out which print periodicals the James F. Winterstein Library owns and where they can be found. It is also available in notebooks around the Internet and reference computers.
• Databases, Journals, and eBooks
  This list includes electronic journal subscriptions and journals available through our full-text databases.

For current information. Published at least once per year. Example: Chiropractic Report.

For checking facts and looking up short answers. Examples: Merck Manual is an encyclopedia of diagnosis and therapy. PDR (Physician’s Desk Reference) provides drug information, including dosage, pharmacology, adverse reactions, and precautions. ACP Medicine is updated regularly and offers a good overview of many medical topics including a section on normal laboratory values.

For news about a trade or profession, advertisements, editorials, practice management information, etc. Example: Chiropractic Economics.

You can probably find a Web site for any topic. Their ease of updating can make them especially valuable for current information. However, because Web sites are so easily posted by anyone, you must carefully evaluate each site for its credibility, accuracy, and currency. For a starting point, see our list of Useful Sites.