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Finding Information for VETM 3390 Veterinary Medical Genetics

Step 1: Finding background information

Step 2: Finding books

Step 3: Finding journal articles

Step 4: Preparing for the Symposium

 

Step 1: Finding Background Information

Once your group has chosen its topic, the following reference books may help to provide background information or definitions of syndromes or terms. Please note that this is a select list. You should browse the reference collection for additional titles or search the Library's catalogue for books on your topic.

Dictionaries – (located in the Reference Collection)

• Black's Veterinary Dictionary VETREF SF609.M5
  In print for over 75 years and through 20 editions! This has long been the standard veterinary medical dictionary.
• Saunder's Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary VETREF SF609.B35
  65,000 entries and 23 tables of data. A very authoritative work.

Manuals – (located in the Reference Collection)

• Merck Veterinary Manual VETREF SF748.M47
  (also on reserve)

  Aimed at practitioners the MVM provides useful clinical information. It's organized by organ system with separate sections on behaviour, pathology, pharmacology, toxicology, nutrition, emergency medicine, exotics and lab animals, poultry, and zoonoses.

 

Step 2: Finding Books

Books may also be a useful source of information for your topic either to get background information or as primary sources. You will need to search Primo (the Library's catalogue) to find books.

Hints

• If you don't know how to use Primo, see the Primo Search Tips
• Remember to think of all the alternate words you can use for your topic, e.g. if you are interested in the genetics of dogs look for dog, dogs, and canine.
• You might also want to consult books on medicine related to a given species, e.g. look at Goat Medicine for information on hereditary goiter in goats.

 

Step 3: Finding Journal Articles

To find journal articles and current research about your topic you have to use a journal database. If you want to review about how to use journal databases see our tutorials.

Hints:

• All of the electronic resources are available from off-campus. If you are working off site you should go to the off-campus Web access page and sign on before trying to use journal databases or electroinc journals.
• Remember when looking in Primo to see if we own the journals where your articles are located, you must search for the full journal title not the abbreviated title.
• Searching Google for journal articles can be a big time waster. There's not enough free, full text content available on the Web to meet your needs.
• The veterinary journal literature isn't all available online at this point in time. You'll still have to use paper copy of some of the journals.
• There's no such thing as "one stop shopping" when you're looking for journal articles. You'll have to search more than one journal database to find what you need.
• Just like when searching the Primo library catalogue for your topic remember to use appropriate alternate words to find as many articles as possible in the journal databases.

Suggested Journal Databases

• CAB Direct
  The absolute best index for journal articles in veterinary medicine. An outstanding resource that covers the veterinary literature back to 1910.
• MEDLINE (CSA)
  The premier human medicine journal index. MEDLINE is a good source for the veterinary literature but not a comprehensive one. The CSA environment provides links to full text online articles.
• PubMed (NLM)
  Similar content to MEDLINE (CSA) but without many of the features.
• Agricola
  AGRICOLA is a comprehensive index to agricultural and life sciences information focussing primarily on the United States. Subject areas covered include all areas of agriculture and allied disciplines, including animal health and veterinary medicine.
• Biological Abstracts (Web of Knowledge)
  The best biological science journal index. Very comprehensive and provides links to full text online journals.

 

Step 4: Tools to Help You Prepare for the Symposium Presentation

• RefWorks
  Allows you to collect and organize references to journal articles and books, then generate a formatted bibliography using MS Word.
• PowerPoint tutorial at Wesleyan University Library
  A good overview.
• Effective Presentations (PDF – 103kb)
  At Yale University School of Medicine.
• The University of Guelph Learning Commons
  The Learning Commons provides excellent resources for students.
• Academic Integrity Quiz Take the University of Guelph's academic integrity quiz to protect yourself! Make sure you understand what constitutes plaigarism.