Health Care Administration
From Simmons Library Research Guides
We have selected these resources to help you find relevant information on your research topic. Please contact a librarian for help using the resources listed in this guide or for help with your research process.
Contents |
Reference and Background Information
Search for Reference sources that contain information about your specific research topic here:
You may also consult the resources below for overviews of the topic that you have chosen to research. Use these resources to help you to put your topic in context and give you the big picture of what information exists about your topic. These resources may have bibliographies at the end of each entry that can help further your research.
- Encyclopedia of Health Care Management
Level 1 Reference RA971 .E52 2004
The Encyclopedia of Health Care Management offers definitions and background information on 600 keywords and phrases in health care management. Many entries include references for further research. Entries are arranged alphabetically, and all terms are listed at the beginning, both alphabetically and divided into topical categories.
- Health Care State Rankings
Level 1 Reference RA407.3 .H42 2007
This is the definitive source for finding American medical statistics. The easy to use charts break the statistics down state by state, and cover topics such as abortions, deaths by specific diseases, numbers of health care providers, physical fitness, and many more relevant topics.
- Health, United States
Level 1 Reference RA407.3 .U57 and Free Online
The US Department of Health and Human Services publishes its report on the health of the nation every year. The most recent edition can be found online; our library holds the 2006 edition currently. This report offers a wealth of details on health trends in the United States, including information about health costs and health care utilization.
- Managed Care Answer Book
Level 1 Reference RA413.5.U5 D33 2002
This resource uses a question and answer format to address issues related to managed care in the United States. Questions cover a broad range of topics including politics and policy, employer-provided health care, physician and medical group practices, quality management, and information systems. A list of all the questions answered is included in the table of contents, and a thorough index and glossary are provided.
- Statistical Record of Health & Medicine
Level 1 Reference RA407.3 .S72 1998
This 1998 reference book includes statistics data on topics including health and lifestyle, insurance, occupational safety, health care programs and industries, the medical establishment, political issues, and international rankings and comparisons. Data is compiled from a variety of sources including government, academic, association, trade, technical, and media sources.
Finding Articles
Below are suggested databases and indexes for articles on the topic that you have chosen to research. These databases include articles from newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals. Articles are shorter and more narrowly focused than books or reference materials so you should use them after you have narrowed your topic.
- Health Business Fulltext
Simmons Eresource
A database that is especially good for finding articles and information about topics related to the business aspects of medicine, such as the influence of pharmaceutical companies, and other economic aspects of medicine.
- CINAHL
Simmons Eresource
Provides authoritative coverage of the literature in nursing and allied health. Over 1200 English-language nursing and allied health journals are indexed along with virtually all publications from the American Nurses' Association and the National League for Nursing. Selected journals in biomedicine, consumer health, health sciences librarianship, behavioral sciences, and education are also included. CINAHL also provides references to healthcare books, book chapters, pamphlets, audiovisuals, nursing dissertations, educational software, selected conference proceedings, standards of professional practice, nurse practice acts, critical paths, and research instruments.
Note: while CINAHL is primarily a citation database, Simmons subscribes to a special enhanced version that includes the full text for articles from about 250 publications.
- Medline
Simmons Eresource
Created by the National Library of Medicine, Medline provides access to articles about biomedical, health, and biological. It is the "authoritative medical information on medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, pre-clinical sciences, and much more." Approximately 5,000 of the world's leading biomedical journals are indexed in Medline.
- ABI/Inform
Simmons Eresource
Find in-depth coverage of business conditions, trends, corporate strategies and tactics, management techniques, competitive and product information, and a wide variety of other topics from more than 1800 leading business and management publications, most of which are fulltext or page-image. Includes fulltext Wall Street Journal.
Enter your search terms:
Use the Advanced Search for a more precise search:
- Type in a word or phrase in the search box (use the * to truncate; and to link separate concepts;or to group similar concepts)
- Consider selecting a search field name in the drop down menu, or accept "Citation and Abstract" as the default. The most specific search would use the "Subject" field. Other Search Fields include article title, author, company name, personal name, source, SIC code, ticker
- Click an operator (AND, OR, AND NOT, WITHIN 3, PRE/1) to link your search terms
- Specify limits such as Date, full text only, or scholarly/peer reviewed
- Results are available as: citation, full text, text and graphics and/or page image (like a photocopy of article). Articles can be emailed to you.
- Business Source Premier
Simmons Eresource
A comprehensive business periodical database that includes scholarly journals and business periodicals covering topics such as management, economics, finance, accounting, international business and more. BSP provides more than 8,800 full text scholarly publications, some as far back as 1922, such as the Harvard Business Review.
Use the Advanced Search for a more precise search:
- Type in search terms in the Find search box
- group similar concepts in ( ) linked with "or". For example: (women or female or gender)
- Truncate word variants with *. For example: instead of typing (manage or management or managing or manager) just type manag*
- Link separate concepts with "and". For example: (women or female or gender) and (manag* or executiv*)
- Consider selecting a specific "Field" to limit the search. The most specific and generally most accurate is a SU Subject Heading search. Also common TI title, AB abstract, CO company.
- Refine your search with Limits such as: Full Text only, from a specific Journal, Peer Reviewed (more scholarly), Date Published.
- Refine your search with Expanders To search within the entire fulltext of an article, check the "search with within full text articles". To take advantage of the built in thesaurus, check the box "also search for related words"
- Type in search terms in the Find search box
- Academic Search Complete
Simmons Eresource
Academic Search Complete is a great place to start your search for both popular and scholarly articles, no matter what your topic is! It contains journals from almost every topic and is designed specifically for academic institutions. It provides more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, 4,400 of which are peer-reviewed journals. This resource also features content as far back as 1865.
- Academic Onefile
Simmons Eresource
Academic Onefile contains 8,000 academic journals, the majority in full-text, available in HTML and PDF formats. In addition it contains hundreds of podcasts and transcripts from NPR, CNN, and the CBC.
- Expanded Academic ASAP
Simmons Eresource
From arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology, this database meets research needs across all academic disciplines. Access scholarly journals, news magazines, and newspapers - many with full text and images. Updated daily.
TIP: Use the Advanced Search for a more precise search!
Searching the Web
Template:GoogleCustomHCA
Tips for Searching the Internet:
- Use the advanced search function, which is available from most search engines:
- Google - See also "Advanced Search Tips"
- Ask - Click "Advanced." See also "Advanced Search Tips"
- Live (MSN) - See also "Options"
- Exalead - See also "Exalead FAQ"
- Yahoo! Search
- Limit your search to .edu and .gov sites. These often provide quality research, statistics, and commentary. Sites ending in .org often have good information, too, but are likely to espouse a strong stance or bias on the issues they cover and may not be objective.
- Try Scandoo, which presents search results from Google, Yahoo! Search, or Live (MSN) with an evaluation about the objectivity, credibility, and overall reliability of the site.
- Consider using a directory of pre-screened, annotated sites:
Writing Style and Citation
For more information on style and citation for this discipline, please contact the Simmons College Writing Center
You may also consider consulting these resources:
- Writing Resources
Free Online
The Writing Center provides online resources for citing your research. If you are unsure of which citation style to use, consult your professor and consider the following:- Use APA (American Psychological Association) when your topic is in the Social Sciences
- Use ASA (American Sociological Association) when your topic is in Sociology
- Use MLA (Modern Language Association) when your topic is in the Humanities
- Use Chicago/Turabian when your topic is in Literature, History or the Arts
- Use CSE (Council of Science Editors) when your topic is in the Sciences
- RefWorks
Simmons Eresource
RefWorks is a great program for organizing articles, books, and other materials you need for research. You can also use RefWorks to create bibliographies, create in text citations in your paper (Write-N-Cite), and share your research with others. Access RefWorks from the A-Z list of resources on the library's web page, and then follow the instructions to create your own username and password. We hold RefWorks Clinics throughout the semester. For more information, ask a reference librarian
Related Topics
For more resources in this area, visit the following related guides or other Resource Guides located here.
