Food, Nutrition & Dietetics Research Guide

The major purpose of class assignments is to write a paper based on your search of published literature. The purpose of the research guide is to introduce you to the process of literature search and familiarize you with a variety of sources available for you.

Select a topic that is of interest to you. If in doubt, talk to your instructor regarding a chosen topic. You might want to seek help from reference librarians who are knowledgeable about search strategies necessary for locating needed information.

Books
Articles (Search Databases)
Journals (Browse E-Journals)
Internet Resources

Prof. Inna Shpilko

Bibliographer for Family and Consumer Sciences

For home use of e-books, databases, e-journals, and course reserves the Proxy Service must be used—see Connect from Home for instructions.

Books

First, gather background information of your topic in general or specialized encyclopedias. These reference sources provide useful overviews of a topic and may include in their bibliographies resources you can further use in your paper. Then, search the online catalog, CUNY+ or other catalogs, to find relevant books.

Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

The Business of Food: Encyclopedia of the Food and Drink Industries (Ref. HD9000.5 .B875 2007)
Encyclopedia of Junk Food and Fast Food (Ref. TX370 .S63 2006)
Encyclopedia of Human Nutrition (Ref. QP141 .E526 2005, 4 vols.)
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (Ref. GT2850 .E53 2003, 3 vols.)
Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology (Ref. QR115 .E53 2000, 3 vols.)
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America (Ref. TX349 .E45 2004, 2 vols.)
Encyclopedia of Vitamins, Minerals, and Supplements (Ref. QP771 .E53 1996)

Find Books

CUNY+ Catalog: Search for books at the Queens College libraries, as well as other CUNY libraries.
Other Library Catalogs: Search the library catalogs of regional libraries such as the Queens Library, Brooklyn Public Library, New York University, Columbia University, etc.
WorldCat: Search for books in the national catalog for the United States and Canada. Includes holdings from libraries in other parts of the world, primarily European or English-speaking.

Articles (Search Databases)

Use online databases or periodical indexes to select journal articles you want to read. A journal article is written by a scholar or an expert, and provides a detailed analysis of a topic. Sometimes, searching one database is not enough. Search multiple databases to obtain the most comprehensive information. You can find bibliographic citations to books and journal articles, as well as full text of some documents.

Most of the databases listed below are available for Queens College faculty and students through the library subscriptions and could be found on the QC Libraries Home page.

Academic Search Premier: Multidisciplinary.
Health Reference Center Academic: Nursing and allied health journals, as well as personal health information sources. For topics such as fitness, pregnancy, occupational safety and health, prescription drugs.
Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition: Scholarly journals in many medical disciplines. Includes Lexi-PAL Drug Guide, covering 1,300 generic drug patient education sheets with more than 4,700 brand names. For topics such as nursing, allied health, prescription drugs.
Health & Wellness Resource Center & Alternative Health Module: Articles from health and medical journals, newsletters, and general interest periodicals. For topics such as fitness, public health, occupational health and safety, drugs, herbal remedies, alternative treatments.
MEDLINE/PubMed: Free access to biomedical information. Citations from Index Medicus, International Nursing Index, Index to Dental Literature, HISTLINE, SPACELINE, PREMEDLINE, AIDSLINE, BIOETHICSLINE, HealthSTAR. Covers medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, health.
MEDLINE (EBSCO): Citations from Index Medicus, International Nursing Index, Index to Dental Literature, HISTLINE, SPACELINE, PREMEDLINE, AIDSLINE, BIOETHICSLINE, HealthSTAR, covering medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, health.
Science Citation Index Expanded: Access to current and retrospective bibliographic information, author abstracts, and cited references from the leading scholarly science and technical journals in more than 150 disciplines.
Science Direct (Elsevier): Articles from over 900 journals in science, technology, and medicine.

Journals (Browse E-Journals)

Click on the title to search electronic version of the journal (e-journal). The print version of most journals has been cancelled and replaced by electronic access.

Internet Resources

In addition, you might consider searching the Internet/World Wide Web to locate valuable information in your field of study published by the federal government or government agencies, professional societies, academic institutions or research centers. Always evaluate the quality of information you identify and retrieve.

Government Resources

Dietary Supplements Labels Database

DSLD offers information about ingredients in more than 2000 selected brands of dietary supplements. It enables users to determine what ingredients are in specific brands and to compare ingredients in different brands. Information is also provided on the health benefits claimed by manufacturers.

The National Agricultural Library Catalog (AGRICOLA)

Provides citations to agricultural literature compiled by the National Agricultural Library, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements (IBIDS) Database

From the Office of Dietary Supplements at the National Institutes of Health. Contains citations/abstracts from scientific literature on dietary supplements, vitamins, minerals, herbal and botanicals.

USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference

From the Nutrient Data Laboratory (NAL/USDA). Offers access to the nutrient data/food composition for more than 7,000 different food groups.