Introduction
A reference search should be started before the details of a project are confirmed, and should continue throughout the research of the project. At its most basic, a reference search involves three steps:
- finding a reference from an online database, hard copy version of Index Medicus, bibliography or journal;
- locating the journals in a library; and, if not available,
- visiting other libraries to find the material, or ordering via interlibrary loans.
This paper is designed to help researchers in medical illustration obtain references effectively and efficiently, avoiding some of the pitfalls along the way.
The proliferation of online databases means that medical illustrators have ready access to a wide range of resources for research. This paper looks at approaches to finding references from a systematic keyword search, published bibliographies and journals of abstracts, to locally and nationally available online databases, email alerting services and full-text journals. The Internet will often provide an abstract (similar to this), however, it may still be necessary to visit a library, archive or other source to find a hard copy, particularly for older material.
- Search for references using databases.
- Appreciate the avialable sources for historical research into medical illustration.
