Finding Information on Sense Disorders (ENL051)

Reference Books

Reference books can be helpful to give you general information and help with vocabulary. The index in a reference book is usually in the last volume. "REFERENCE" in front of the call number indicates that the printed directory is to be found in the Reference section of the library, near the front door.

Here are some reference books which may help you with your assignment:

How it works : science and technology. REFERENCE 603 H83

Volume 8 has articles on hearing and hearing aids
Volume 12 has an article about diseases of the eye, under "ophthalmology."
Volume 15 has an article on smell and taste. Volume 20 contains the index.

Magill's medical guide REFERENCE 610.73 M27 2002

Volume 2 has articles on hearing aids and on laser use in surgery.
Volume 3 has articles on taste, on taste disorders, and on visual disorders. It also includes the index.

You may also wish to use some medical dictionaries, which you will find under the number REFERENCE 610.3.

Articles in periodicals

Magazines, newspapers, and academic journals are all types of periodicals. The library has many indexes to periodicals, including computer databases. You can use them by going to the Library Database Page. If you are using the databases from your home, you will need your My Chemeketa user name and password.

The Academic Search Premier database is the largest index and is good for most subjects.

The keyword search is the ordinary search used in the database. You may type in search words combine words together with "AND," for example "Lasik AND surgery."

The Subject Search lets you look for topics in the database's list of subject headings:

In the picture above, we clicked the Subject terms button in the blue toolbar at the top of the screen, then we typed in eye--refraction. A list of terms appears. We have clicked in the box next to "Eye -- Refractive errors." You can click on more than one box if you wish. Then click the Search button to find a list of articles.

Here are some subject headings and key words you can use in Academic Search Premier:

1. LASIK surgery question
Subject headings
•   Blindness
•   Eye -- Refractive errors
•   LASIK (eye surgery)
•   Cornea -- laser surgery
Keywords
•   For the causes of refractive errors use etiology with "AND."
•   For cures or therapies use treatment with "AND."
2. Loss of taste question
Subject headings
•   Taste disorders
Keywords
•   For complete loss of taste use ageusia or apogeusia
•   For altered of taste use dysgeusia
•   For diminished sense of taste use hyppogeusia
•   For the causes of loss of taste use etiology with "AND."
•   For cures or therapies for loss of taste use treatment with "AND."
3. Hearing aid question
Subject headings
•   Deafness: go to "Deafness" in the Subject terms and look at related, broader, and narrower terms.
•   Hearing disorders
•   Hearing aids
Keywords
•   For the causes of hearing loss use etiology with "AND."
•   For cures or therapies for hearing loss use treatment with "AND."

Some places to look on the Internet

Here are two government sites that include reliable information on health. Both sites have a search engine.

Healthfinder

Use the search space at the top of the page to find helpful Web sites.

MedlinePlus

Use the search space at the top of the page, or click on Health Topics to pick a subject from a list.