All posts by Andrea Kang

NOTES FROM THE LIBRARY

RESEARCH GUIDES TO HELP YOU GET STARTED ON YOUR RESEARCH

Many people turn to Google when they are brainstorming a research topic. I am not here to shame anyone on that practice, especially because I am guilty myself! But as many librarians will say, you can always start with Google but NEVER end there.

There are better resources to help get you started on your research. The following are some research guides that have a curated list of resources based on topic/subject area.

As always, if you need help navigating any of these resources, please feel free to make an appointment with me or drop by Sackler Library Office Hours!

FINDING INFORMATION

SCHOOL OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH GUIDE. This will guide you through finding journal articles, chemical/drug information, protocols/methods, data, data analysis/visualization, and more!

PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING. For those of you working/researching in a clinical setting, this guide will help you with some resource that might be helpful in answering clinical questions. This guide includes a variety of resources that include, but is not limited to, point-of-care tools, e-book collections, clinical practice guidelines, drug information, etc.

BIOINFORMATIC RESOURCES. If you need bioinformatics resources, this is a guide that directs you to databases, tools, journals, books, and bioinformatics at Tufts.

STUDY DESIGNS IN THE HEALTH SCIENCES. This guide will help you gain an introductory understanding of the different types of study designs that are frequently used in the health sciences.

ADVANCED SEARCHING TECHNIQUES. If you have a handle on basic searching in databases like PubMed or Ovid, you might find this guide helpful. It will give you some tips and strategies for advanced searching on a variety of databases.

OTHER RESOURCES

APPROACHING THE LITERATURE REVIEW. This is a great place to start if you need help with your literature review. It walks you through the steps of approaching your literature review and links you to other resources that might be useful.

DOCTORAL RESOURCES. You should visit this guide if you need help with your dissertation, teaching, or locating career information!

FINDING FUNDING. This guide is specifically designed to help you find funding (both on and off campus), as well as write grant proposals. It will also give you tips on finding successfully awarded grants on PubMed and other databases.

NOTES FROM THE LIBRARY

Introduction

Hello everyone! My name is Andrea Kang and I recently joined the Research & Instruction Librarians at the Hirsh Health Sciences Library (HHSL). One of my roles is to be the library liaison to the School of Biomedical Sciences. I am so excited to be a part of the Tufts community and hope I can make your lives a little bit easier, whether that is by helping you through your literature review for your thesis, or giving you tips on research data management, or connecting you with resources that HHSL has to offer you. Here are some things that I can help you do throughout your time at Tufts:

FIND JOURNAL ARTICLES & MORE. I can help you find articles, datasets, health statistics, chemical/drug information, etc. and equip you with the skills on how to do it yourself in the future! Even if you know the basics, I can help with troubleshooting or refining search strategies.

GET YOU STARTED ON A RESEARCH DATA MANAGEMENT. Government funders among others are requiring rigorous research data management (RDM) plans for your research, some requiring that you meet with a librarian. But beyond these requirements, RDM can make your life (and others’ lives) easier in the long run. I can provide tips on best practices and where to get started with your RDM plan.

HELP ORGANIZE YOUR CITATIONS. If you are still using Microsoft Excel/Word, Google Sheets, or going old school with pencil and paper to organize the bazillion articles you found for your research, STOP. There are other ways that you can manage your citations that will save you time in the long run! I can help you with tools like Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote (which is FREE because Tufts pays for it), or connect you with the experts here at HHSL.

CONNECT YOU WITH OTHER RESOURCES. There are so many other resources available at HHSL. Whether you need to use test prep books, borrow a phone charger, just need advice on where to start your research, or learn skills like R/R studio, I can help connect you to the resources you need. Just reach out!

To make an appointment with me, you can go to my page and schedule an appointment through the scheduler. If there are problems with this, you are more than welcome to call me at (617)-636-0385 or email me at andrea.kang@tufts.edu.