The History of Medicine in Western Society
Resources for research
The advice and links in this area of the site will help you to find information on topics and sources in the history of medicine. How helpful they are depends on the topic or question you have, how much time you are willing to spend, and your familiarity with doing searches in academic settings.
To prepare for searching, make a list of keywords for your topic. Refine this list as you search and learn how librarians and information experts have chosen to categorize subjects, time periods and types of media. If you already have books or articles that touch on your area of interest, look in them for references to other works that you can use to get started. Use the course materials, as well, including the bibliographies posted with the lecture outlines and Roy Porter's Greatest Benefit to Mankind.
Be ready to go to the Main Library, Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, other campus libraries and (for local and regional history) the State Historical Society of Iowa's Libraries and Archives to find the books, journals, media and other sources referenced in various databases and bibliographies. There are ever-growing numbers of texts and images available on-line, but still far fewer exist in digital form compared with the numbers in print.
Just about every on-line index for searching for references, including the UI Library Catalog, has a help section. Remember that librarians are there to assist you, too.
Using the UI Libraries: the Infohawk catalog and on-line biblographical indices
Selected internet sites and open access bibliographic indices
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