Library Guides: H P A 301W : Health Services Policy Issues: Starting Places

Starting Places

Begin by gathering background information from a wide variety of books and encyclopedias. This allows you to paint the issues in broad strokes and to outline the areas you will want to explore in further depth through journal articles, primary resources (such as government documents), and policy papers.

Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window
For controversial issues this is a great database to get differing perspectives.
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center provides research and background information on social issues. The database contains the essays from the Opposing Viewpoints series, supplemented by statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles. Keywords: hot topics, current events, social issues, social trends, English 15, CAS 100, background information, general interest, contemporary issues, overviews.
PubMed (Medline) This link opens in a new window
PubMed is a web interface that allows you to search for information across medical subjects including: bioethics, biology, chemistry, dentistry, environmental health, genetics, gerontology, health care planning and administration, history of medicine, hospital administration, microbiology, nutrition, nursing (International Nursing Index), physiology, pre-clinical sciences, public health, sports medicine, veterinary medicine and zoology.
PubMed is a web interface that allows you to search MEDLINE, the National Library of Medicine's premier database of citations and abstracts for biomedical research articles. The core subject is medicine, but subject coverage also includes bioethics, biology, chemistry, dentistry, environmental health, genetics, gerontology, health care planning and administration, history of medicine, hospital administration, microbiology, nutrition, nursing (International Nursing Index), physiology, pre-clinical sciences, public health, sports medicine, veterinary medicine and zoology. MEDLINE covers over 4,800 journals published in the United States and 70 other countries. The database contains over 15 million citations dating back to 1950. Coverage is worldwide and updated weekly. Learn more about PubMed at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/about/. or Try the Tutorial at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/pubmed_tutorial/m1001.html
CQ Electronic Library This link opens in a new window
Includes several different databases that are helpful. Each can be searched separately using the links below:
A reference source for research in American government, politics, history, public policy, and current affairs. The suite includes the online version of --CQ Weekly --CQ Researcher --CQ Congress Collection, --CQ Voting and Elections Collection --CQ Historic Documents Online
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
Weekly magazine that explores in-depth a single "hot issue" currently being discussed in the news. Topics include social issues, politics, economics, the environment, education, science, and more. Each issue includes an essay outlining the issue, a pro-con feature, a chronology, and a bibliography. 1923 to the present.
The CQ Researcher is a collection of reports covering political and social issues, with regular reports on topics in health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the U.S. economy. Keywords: hot topics, current events, social issues, social trends, archive, English 15, CAS 100, background information, general interest, contemporary issues, overviews. CQ Global Researcher (formerly a stand alone DB) content was merged into CQ Researcher.
CQ Almanac This link opens in a new window
An excellent database to begin tracking legislation as well as getting a broad overview of government actions on a topic.
Summarizes all major legislative actions taken by congress each year. 1945-to date.
LionSearch This link opens in a new window
an integrated search of books, e-books, research articles, newspaper articles, and other publications.
Catalog (Penn State University Libraries catalog) This link opens in a new window
Use keywords, subject headings, authors, organization names, and personal names to identify books, government documents, and other sources related to your topic.
This is the online catalog of materials owned by Penn State Libraries. All formats (books, journals, audiovisuals, maps, recordings, etc.) are included. Circulation status for individual items is also provided. Coverage: Presently contains about 7 million records. Updates: Continuous up-to-the-minute as new records are added.