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Encyclopedia & Clinical Reference
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Credo Reference This link opens in a new windowA collection of over 500 reference books on a variety of topics. (NVCC)
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DynaMed This link opens in a new windowA clinical reference tool for physicians and health care professionals for use at the point-of-care. With clinically-organized summaries for more than 3,200 topics. (NVCC)
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Nursing Reference Center Plus This link opens in a new windowEvidence-based resource designed for point of care. Includes videos, evidence-based care sheets, quick lessons, patient education handouts, drug information and continuing education materials. (NVCC)
Search Tips
Use broad terms, as encyclopedias usually provide general overviews of topics.
adaptive equipment
Use quotation marks ( " " ) around phrases (two or more words); this tells the database to look for the words in a specific order.
"occupational therapy"
Why to Use Reference Books
An encyclopedia is a type of reference book. Use a reference book to:
- Define important vocabulary words related to your topic,
- Find a basic overview and main issues related to your topic,
- Find references to additional resources, and
- Discover important background information related to your topic.
You will typically not use a reference book or encyclopedia as a source in your research. The information in these sources is for your own background knowledge.