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Medical Ethics: Doing Research

Building a Search

Developing Your Topic

Not sure where to start when coming up with a topic for your paper? Try creating a mind map. Write a topic that interests you in the middle of a piece of paper. Then surround the topic word with the words who, what, when, where, and why. Try answering those questions as they relate to the topic in the center of the paper. This will help you narrow down to a specific area of your topic that you’re interested in. If you would like more information about mind maps, visit this site:  http://www.austincc.edu/adnfac/collaborative/online_mapping.htm

Identifying Your Keywords

When searching the catalog, you can’t ask a question like on Google. You must use keywords. Keywords are concepts or ideas you find in your class lectures and readings. It can help to keep a list of keywords related to your topic, including synonyms and related words, before you start searching.  

Identifying Your Sources

It can help your research if you know what kinds of sources the library can provide to you to help answer your question. Sometimes you will have to use multiple types of sources. If you need help identifying a source, ask a librarian! The types of sources available in the library include:

  • Reference works – these include dictionaries and encyclopedias. They will provide you with the background information you need to understand a person, event, or concept. 
  • Books – extensive studies on topics within a discipline. Books can help provide you with context related to your topic. 
  • Newspapers – brief articles on current events. Will provide you with an up-to-date study of a specific event, but be sure to check when the article was published!
  • Journals – contain short and specific studies of ideas or events by academics within their field. Have been reviewed for accuracy by other academics.

Recommended Search Terms - Library of Congress

When searching for books in our catalog, it helps to search using Library of Congress Subject Headings. Subject Headings act like tags, where they identify the key points of the book and link to other books about the same subject within our catalog. Here are some Subject Headings related to medical ethics that are a good place to start. For more information on Library of Congress Subject Headings and medical ethics, visit here: https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/tracer-bullets/bioethicstb.html

  • Medical Ethics
  • Bioethics
  • Psychiatric Ethics
  • Euthanasia -- Moral and Ethical Aspects
  • Human Reproductive Technologies -- Moral and Ethical Aspects
  • Right to Die
  • Abortion -- Moral and Ethical Aspects
  • Brain Death
  • Genetic Intervention
  • Human Experimentation in Medicine
  • Terminal Care -- Moral and Ethical Aspects
  • Medical Laws and Legislation

Recommended Search Terms - Medical Subject Headings

When searching medical databases for journal articles related to medical ethics, it helps to search the words that are used by the authors who wrote the articles and the librarians who organize the articles. Here is a list of recommended search terms using the U.S. National Library of Medicine's Medical Subject Headings. To find more MeSH terms related to your topic, search here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh   

  • Ethics, Medical
  • Bioethics
  • Ethicists
  • Hippocratic Oath
  • Human Experimentation
  • Abortion, Induced
  • Reproductive Rights
  • Medical Futility
  • Early Medical Intervention
  • Brain Death
  • Suicide, Assisted
  • Pain Management
  • Advance Directives

Searching Tips

Boolean Operators

Want to search for only certain keywords or keyword combinations? Try Boolean Operators! Here are the three Boolean Operators you will need and how they work:

  • AND – combines two or more keywords; your results will contain those specific words   
  • OR – splits a search into two or more words; results will contain one or all of your keywords
  • NOT – eliminates a keyword; can be useful in targeting specific concepts or ideas such as informed consent NOT refusal  

Parenthesis, Quotation Marks, and Truncation

Using some keyboard shortcuts can assist in creating a more targeted result. These shortcuts are parenthesis, quotation marks, and truncation.

  • Parenthesis – enclose your search in parenthesis so that only those words appear in the result; works best for OR searches such as (autonomy OR beneficence OR justice)
  • Quotation marks – By enclosing your keywords in quotation marks, you will only get results where those words are next to each other; works well for concepts where multiple words are used such as “physician assisted suicide”
  • Truncation – by adding a * symbol to the end or root of a word you bring back multiple uses of that word. For example, by searching medic* you will bring back results with the words medicine, medical, medico, and medicinal.