Connect with Your Librarian
Getting Started with Research for PUBH395!
- Need a review of Hekman Library basics? Check out this "Get Connected" guide or browse our How-to playlist on Youtube.
- If you're off-campus, remember to start at the library homepage when connecting to databases and ebooks, so you'll be recognized as a Calvin user (when you're prompted to login, enter your Calvin username and passphrase).
- Struggling with citations? For more help, see the library's longer Citation 101 guide or try using Purdue's OWL (Online Writing Lab)
Getting Started
If you are looking for topic ideas or need more introductory information to begin your research, try consulting reference materials like encyclopedias. The links here will connect you with scholarly encyclopedias focused specifically on public health topics - search their entries to learn more about your general topic and use any entry's bibliography to find more sources for further reading.
[In the resources below, click "Access full-text resource" to navigate to the publication. You can see topics covered at a glance by clicking the Table of Contents tabs.]
- Gale Encyclopedia of Public HealthThis 2020 edition covers topics such as diseases and conditions, health and wellness efforts, nutrition, environment issues, and more.
- Encyclopedia of Public Health: principles, people, and programsThis 2018 edition focuses more particularly on critical theories, people, and movements in public health
- International Encyclopedia of Public HealthThis 2017 edition focuses on global health issues, from specific diseases to social insurance agencies.
- Encyclopedia of Global HealthThis 2008 edition covers major global health issues, biographies and profiles from medical institutions around the world
Recommended Subject-Specific Databases
- DemographicsNow
DemographicsNow provides "comprehensive business and demographic information," drawing on census and community data for the US to present household data, consumer and business profiles, place/people lookup, maps, and more. - PubMed
The PubMed database contains more than 30 million citations and abstracts of biomedical literature. PubMed was developed and is maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM). It facilitates searching across several NLM resources, including MEDLINE and PubMed Central. Coverage extends from the 1940s to the present day.
- Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest)
Sociological Abstracts indexes the international literature of sociology, and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences.
- ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials (EBSCO)
ATLA is an index of journal articles, essays, and book reviews in the areas of biblical studies, world religions, church history, and religious perspectives on social issues, among other topics. The database provides coverage from 1949 to the present and retrospective indexing for some journals as far back as the nineteenth century. See also ATLAS for Alumni.
Public Health research can be very interdisciplinary, so if you find that these databases cover too narrow a field for your topic, try using SearchStart instead, which covers our biggest interdisciplinary databases with a very wide range of subjects.
Exploring public health, ethics, and faith
If you are looking for more introductory information for the faith portion of your research, try browsing theological encyclopedias or dictionaries. Connect to these scholarly resources through the links here - again, you can search their entries to get more background for your topic and use any entry's bibliography to find more sources for further reading.
Dictionary of Christianity and Science by Call Number: BL240.3 .D53 2017Publication Date: 2017-04-25Individual entries in this reference collection address how Christian theology relates to scientific inquiry, including over 450 relevant concepts, theories, terms, movements, individuals, and debates.
Faith-Based Health Justice by Call Number: EBOOKPublication Date: 2021-02-16Essays on selected global health issues and their intersections with faith groups and organizations, considering what health justice might mean today if developed in accordance with faith traditions whose commandment to care for the poor, ill, and marginalized lies at the core of their theology.
The Westminster Handbook to Theologies of the Reformation by Call Number: BR305.3 .W47 2010Publication Date: 2010-10-18"Written by esteemed Reformed scholars, this book provides easy access to a wealth of information and summarizes the most significant aspects of Reformed theology."
The Anchor Bible Dictionary by Call Number: BS440 .A54 1992ISBN: 0385193513Publication Date: 1998-12-01A standard reference source in theology studies, this series provides brief analyses and definitions of terms and concepts covered throughout the Bible.
- Bible Commentaries GuideIf you're interested in applying a specific Bible passage to your research, explore our Commentaries guide here. Commentaries are written by Bible scholars, walking through individual books of the Bible and offering expert historical, literary, and theological analysis.
If you're looking for church-based information, you might want to investigate the websites for the major Reformed denominations. In particular, the Christian Reformed Church has extensive resources on social justice that connect to Biblical principles. Use the links below to connect:
- CRCNA Office of Social JusticeThe Christian Reformed Church in North America provides lots of resources for understanding and advocating for social justice as a Christian -- find search by issue here.
- RCA Global MissionClick here for info on missions and special areas of concern for the Reformed Church in America. The RCA is also particularly committed to fighting racism (see their Resource page on Advocacy and Race)
- PC(USA) Social IssuesThe Presbyterian Church (USA), another Reformed-related denomination, sums up their beliefs and stances on many different social issues here.
Not Finding What You're Looking For?
Even if Hekman Library doesn't own a particular book or article that you need, you can borrow or get a copy from another library through our MeL and ILL sharing services. If you have any questions or problems, our library staff are always available to help!
