LibGuides: Library Research FAQ: Find Information Sources

Find a Book or eBook

You can find eBooks by searching in Still OneSearch from the library homepage. Simply enter a few keywords or the title of a specific book and click on the Search button.

To limit your results to eBooks, click on the checkbox next to eBooks under Limit by Type of Resource. You can find these search limiters on the left-hand side of the page in your search results.

Search straight from the Library homepage using the e-Books tab of the search box. This will connect you to the Library Catalog, Avalon.

To find eBooks in Avalon:

On the left side of the book record, you will see a book symbol with an 'e'.
The book location should also read 'ATSU - Elec Resource'. These books will only be available online.

To find physical copies of books:

On the left side of the book record, you will see a book symbol. There will not be an 'e' on the image.
The book location will either read ATSU-AZ or ATSU-MO. These books will only be available in person. You will also be able to see the call number for the book and if it is currently available or already checked out.

The Library has many required textbooks and recommended references as e-books. When possible, these are directly linked on each program's Program Toolkit guide, visible on the right side menu of the Library homepage.

The Library has e-books from multiple publishers and sources, which means that they do not all look the same contact us for more information about using a specific e-book or publisher.
Some e-books allow one person to use them at a time, some allow a few, and some allow the entire university.
If too many people try to use an e-book at once, the newest person will not be able to access until one of the others finishes and closes their browser.
- Please close e-books as soon as you are finished to be courteous to your peers.
- If you cannot get into an e-book, try again in half-an-hour.
- If you want to know how many users a particular book allows, check its catalog record or contact the library.

The majority of the print books are housed in the Missouri Library. If you are at the Mesa or California campuses and wish to use a print book that appears in your search results, you can get it quickly through Interlibrary Loan. If you are not able to visit a campus library, you cannot borrow print books, but you can request pdfs of chapters from them.

If we do not have an e-book or print book and you want to use it, you may:

Request that the Library purchase it by emailing hbright@atsu.edu. We cannot purchase all requested books, but we will consider all requests.
Request a print book via Interlibrary Loan at no charge (Kirksville or Mesa campuses only)

Find a Journal

Click on the Browse eJournals link in the Discovery Tools box on the library homepage.

Search for the journal title
- Do not search for or include the article title
Browse by year and issue number to find your desired article

If The Library does not have the journal article you need in full-text, you can ask us to order it for free through Interlibrary Loan. This typically takes 1-3 business days, but can take as long as 10 days.

Click on the Browse eJournals link in the Discovery Tools box on the library homepage.

Browse by subject category to see most available full-text journals
Some available journals are not included in the subject browse lists. You can still find these journals by searching for them within BrowZine, by clicking on its magnifying glass search icon.

Use BrowZine, an app and web resource that will let you create a personal ID to save journal titles of interest and monitor them for new articles. Available for iOS and Android or via a browser. Use it to get:

Alerts for new articles or issues
A single point to download or read articles from all sources
Tools to move and organize articles

See the BrowZine guide for more information about how to use it.

All of the above methods work best if you already know there is a specific single journal that you are interested in finding. To find a variety of articles rather than only articles from one journal, use Still OneSearch or PubMed.

Find a Database

The Library provides access to dozens of databases that include full-text and abstracted journal articles, e-books, government reports, clinical guidelines, datasets, images, videos, and more.

Search most databases at once

Use the Library's discovery tool Still OneSearch

Find a specific database

Search or Browse for databases by name or subject using the Library's Database A-Z list on the Library homepage in the Discovery Tools box
Find recommended databases for your program from your Program Toolkit Guide
Get help using or learning a specific database from the Database Help Guide

If you need help using a database, contact libaz@atsu.edu.

Find a Test, Measure, or Instrument Tab

Finding Tests & Measurement Instruments
This library guide from the University of Michigan will teach you how to identify and find tests that meet your research criteria.

Instrument Databases

HAPI : Health and Psychosocial Instruments This link opens in a new window
More than 190,000 abstracts & bibliographic records covering more than 80 unique behavioral measurement tools and instruments. Use it to find an appropriate instrument and the published studies connected to it.
PsycTESTS This link opens in a new window
An extensive collection of items associated with psychological measures, scales, surveys, and other instruments essential to the research needs of professionals, students, and educators across the behavioral and social sciences; focused on a collection of instrumentation tools developed for research but not made commercially available. Many are available in fulltext for use.
Rehabilitation Reference Center This link opens in a new window
Evidence-based, point-of-care resource is for physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists and rehabilitation professionals, including research instruments.

TestLink
The Test Collection at ETS is a database of more than 25,000 tests and other measurement devices, most of which were created by authors outside ETS. It makes information on standardized tests and research instruments available to researchers, graduate students and teachers.

Look for articles researching your topic using your preferred type of measure - what did other people do to study this question?

assessment, instrument, survey, measure, measurement, inventory, test, questionnaire, validity, reliability, psychological tests, health assessment, [specific instrument name], etc.

Sometimes you cannot find an instrument that already exists. Consult these resources to create a new one:

SAGE Research Methods This link opens in a new window
SAGE Research Methods supports research at all levels by providing material to guide users through every step of the research process, with more than 1000 books, reference works, journal articles, and instructional videos. Also includes the largest collection of qualitative methods books available online from any scholarly publisher. Use the Methods Map and other tools to find your best method for a project.

Data and Health Statistics

Freely Available Online Data Sources

U.S. Data and Statistics
This web page from usa.gov provides an overview of data sources available from the United States government.
Data and Statistical Sources Library Guide
This library guide provides a comprehensive list of public health data sources available online.
Open Access Data Sources
This is a list of open access data sources that have been vetted by the ATSU library.

Tutorials and Research Assistance

Health Statistics Tutorials
These tutorials, located on the ATSU Library research tutorials guide, give guidance on finding and using health statistics.
Data Analysis Catalog Search
This search in our library catalog will show you all the books we have available to help you learn data analysis.
Data Analysis Reference Books
A curated list of reference books for learning data analysis as applied to biomedical research data.
Data Services Library Guide
The ATSU Library data services guide provides a wealth of information on data management and how the librarians can assist you in finding, using, and managing your data.
ATSU Departmental Resources
A list of ATSU departments outside the library that can assist you in finding and using data for research.

Dissertations, theses and capstone projects are great sources of information about both research and about useful sources that other researchers have found.

What is a dissertation, thesis or capstone project?

Each of these is a type of final project produced as an outcome of advanced studies in order to earn a doctorate, master's degree, or advanced certification. Most contain detailed summaries of existing knowledge on a topic as well as new research or implementations.

Why would you want to find one?

This kind of document is a good source for:

literature reviews
surveys or other measurement instruments
suggestions for areas in need of further research

Dissertation Sources	List of available ATSU subscription and Open Access dissertation sources
Interlibrary Loan	It is more difficult to get a dissertation through Interlibrary Loan than any other type of resource, but you should always put in a request and we will try our best to locate it for you. If all that you want is the literature review or bibliography, make sure to include this in your interlibrary loan request. These are easier to obtain than full dissertations.
What if you still can't get it?	If all else fails, we suggest that you seek out the author and ask for a copy of it or its literature review or bibliography. Try seeking the author using LinkedIn, ResearchGate, or Google. The Library cannot do this for you, but you may have good look asking yourself. If you know the institution at which an author wrote their dissertation, you can try searching that institution's library website for an online repository of dissertations, or contacting that library to see if they can provide you access.