LibGuides: PH 300: Environmental Health Op-Ed: Research Tips & Tools

Getting Started

Your PH 300 Op-Ed assignment will highlight using different types of information to advocate a position in favor of a specific action or policy related to an environmental health issue. To get a complete picture of this issue, it is advised that you incorporate many different types of resources, including: government websites, news articles, journal articles, background resources, and law resources. This research guide is intended to make your information collection process easier by pointing you to helpful resources for this assignment.

Recommended Resources

Background Information (including data & statistics)

CDC's National Center for Environmental Health CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) plans, directs, and coordinates a program to protect the American people from environmental hazards. We promote a healthy environment and prevent premature death, avoidable illness and disability caused by non-infectious, non-occupational environmental and related factors. We are especially committed to safeguarding the health of vulnerable populations –such as children, the elderly, and people with disabilities –from certain environmental hazards.

CQ Researcher Plus Archive This link opens in a new window In-depth reports on current and controversial issues with complete summaries, pro and con discussions of all sides of the issues, bibliographies and more. Covers topics in health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the economy.

Department of Health and Human Services It is the mission of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to enhance and protect the health and well-being of all Americans. We fulfill that mission by providing for effective health and human services and fostering advances in medicine, public health, and social services.
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) is expanding and accelerating its contributions to scientific knowledge of human health and the environment, and to the health and well-being of people everywhere.

Opposing Viewpoints In Context This link opens in a new window Explore both sides of an issue - a rich resource for debaters and includes pro/con viewpoints, reference articles, interactive maps, infographics, and more. A category on the National Debate Topic provides quick and easy access to content on frequently studied and discussed issues. Periodical content covers current events, news and commentary, economics, environmental issues, political science, and more.
PolicyMap This link opens in a new window Online GIS mapping with data on demographics, real estate, health, jobs and more in communities across the US.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Our mission is to protect human health and the environment.

Environmental and Health Sciences

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window This multi-disciplinary database provides access to full-text articles from more than 8,500 journals, including more than 7,300 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 12,500 journals and a total of more than 13,200 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc.
CINAHL: Current Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature This link opens in a new window Indexes over 4,900 nursing and allied health journals, with cited references from more than 1,400 journals; provides full-text access to more than 770 journals. Also offers access to health care books, nursing dissertations, selected conference proceedings, standards of practice, audiovisuals, and book chapters. Covers a wide range of topics including nursing, biomedicine, health sciences librarianship, alternative/complementary medicine, consumer health and 17 allied health disciplines.
Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Follow this link: Google Scholar Settings to turn on a feature to check if Google Scholar results are available in the Library databases.
PubMed This link opens in a new window The U.S. National Library of Medicine's digital archive of life sciences journal literature. Indexes worldwide biomedical literature including research, clinical practice, administration, policy issues, and health care services. Articles indexed from 5,663 journals and many serials and online books. Some full text. Coverage 1946 - to present. Access to the full text of articles is free, except where a journal requires a subscription for access to recent articles.
ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window A full text online database for scientific, technical and medical information as well as information in the social sciences, business, and the arts and humanities. Access to over 2,200 journals and 26,000 books. Coverage 1823 - present.
Web of Science
Access has ended. Please go to Scopus for same content access.

Law / Policy

Government websites are an excellent source of information. Be sure to check that the url includes .gov to ensure it's a valid government website.

Political Science Abstracts This link opens in a new window Journal articles, dissertations and theses, working papers, etc. in all major areas of political science and its complementary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration and policy.
WestlawNext This link opens in a new window Legal research databases that contains case law, state and federal statutes, administrative codes, public records, law journals, law reviews, treatises, and legal forms. Also includes newspaper and magazine articles as well as business search and Hoover's Company Records.

News / Current Events

Ethnic NewsWatch [Current] This link opens in a new window Full-text collection of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. It includes both English and Spanish Language publications and you may search in Spanish or in English.
Los Angeles Times Newspaper This link opens in a new window The Los Angeles Times is one of the largest metropolitan newspapers in the U.S. Each issue of every newspaper is indexed thoroughly, with access to top news stories, and also detailed information on the arts, sports, business, and popular culture. Even items such as editorials, editorial cartoons, obituaries, and letters to the editor from well-known people are indexed. Comprehensive coverage back to 1985.
New York Times - Account Registration This link opens in a new window
Use this link to register for your NY Times account - necessary if you want full access to news content on NYtimes.com! Check out the FAQs if you have any concerns. You will need to renew your registration annually. Note: If you are a current subscriber to the NY Times, please contact edu@nytimes.com in order to change over your account.
ProQuest US Newsstream This link opens in a new window Enables users to search the most recent U.S. news content, as well as archives which stretch back into the 1980s. Includes top newspapers, newswires, blogs, and news sites in full-text format.

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PH 300: Environmental Health Op-Ed

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Getting Started

Recommended Resources