Research Tips
- Use books and reference books, web resources, to learn about medical conditions or injuries for your presentation. See the books and web resources tabs.
- Search Rehabilitation Reference Center for a clinical review on your medical condition (see the practice resources tab)
- Use MESH Terms and the strategies in the Primary research articles tab to find primary research study articles.
- Use MESH Terms and the strategies in the Literature review tab to find review articles.
- Find ACSM Position Statements on the Web Resources Tab.
- Check out our other Help Guides on Literature Searching and Writing With Sources
- Reach a librarian for help through Ask a Librarian. Be sure to mention this course in your question.
Books & Ebooks
Search for more books in Primo.
- Library of Congress Call Numbers: QP 301 ; RC 1200
- Diabetes : your complete exercise guide. RC661.E94 G67 1993
- Exercise and chronic disease : An evidence-based approach. RM725 .E947 2011
- Breathing disorders : your complete exercise guide. RC735.E95 G67 1993
- Physical activity in rehabilitation and recovery.
- Aerobic exercise in special populations.
- Diabetes care : A practical manual.
Databases
- For a full list of databases, see the Health Professions Databases
- CINAHL Complete (EBSCOhost) indexing for journals, and provides additional nursing and allied health research. Watch a tutorial about CINAHL
- ClinicalKey (Elsevier) All of Elsevier’s medical and surgical content in one resource, including books, journals, videos, and images.
- The Cochrane Library (EBSCOhost) Contains four databases: the Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Clinical Answers, and Cochrane Methodology Register. Watch a tutorial about Cochrane Library.
- DynaMed Plus (EBSCOhost) clinical reference tool provides fast, easy access to the latest evidence-based information. Watch a tutorial about DynaMed.
- MEDLINE Complete (EBSCOhost) Pubmed companion of biomedical and health journals. Watch a tutorial about MEDLINE.
- Proquest Health & Medicine Databases Search all of Proquest’s health and medicine databases
- PubMed (National Library of Medicine) FREE access to over 11 million MEDLINE® citations. Mid-1960’s-present. Watch a tutorial about PubMed or read a PubMed Basic Search Tutorial, and watch a tutorial about using MeSH terms.
- Rehabilitation Reference Center (RRC) (EBSCOhost) Evidence-based clinical reference tool for use by rehabilitation clinicians at the point-of-care. Content: Clinical Reviews, research instruments, more than 9,800 exercise images, and guidelines from the National Guidelines Clearinghouse.
- Click on the Practice Resources tab
- Click Clinical Reviews Link
- Search for Medical condition
- SPORTDiscus (Please note: This database is limited to 4 users at a time) Covers sports, physical fitness, exercise, sports medicine, sports science, physical education, kinesiology, coaching, and other related topics.
Search Terms
Video: Keywords vs Subject headings
Subject Terms:
- Chronic diseases — Exercise therapy
- Chronic Disease
- Multiple Chronic Conditions
- Exercise Tolerance
- Exercise
- Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive (COPD)
- Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1
- Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
- Peripheral Arterial Disease
- Renal Insufficiency, Chronic
- Heart Failure
- Hypertension
- Osteoporosis
- Asthma
- Parkinson Disease
- Spinal Cord Injuries
Primary Research Articles
Video: Tips for Identifying research studies
Box 1: exercise OR “physical activity”
Box 2: Mesh term for a medical condition
Box 3: research OR study
Choose “Exact Major subject heading,” “Mesh term,” or “All subject headings” from the drop-down for box 2 (depending on the database)
Find Literature Reviews
Box 1: exercise OR “physical activity”
Box 2: Mesh term for a medical condition
Choose “Exact Major subject heading,” “Mesh term,” or “All subject headings” from the drop-down for box 2 (depending on database)
Publication Types
Choose one or more of the following types (hold down the ctrl key to select more than one within the database menu):
- Literature Review
- Systematic Review
- Meta-analysis
- Review
- Cochrane Review
Websites
- ACSM Position Statements: evidence-based statement on topics of relevance to those in the fields of exercise science and sports medicine.
- ACSM’s Resource Library: patient information, professional guidelines, and exam materials
- Physiopedia: Online Encyclopedia of Physiotherapy
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Click on “Health Topics” in the main menu
- MedlinePlus Encyclopedia: Covers the basics of medical conditions, medications, and medical tests
Research Search Tools
*Note: Many of these search tools focus on health research, rather than exercise performance research
Only use these tools if you are not able to find what you need in library databases, Primo, or inside specific journals.
- PEDro (Physiotherapy Evidence Database): free database of over 19,000 randomized trials, systematic reviews and clinical practice guidelines in physiotherapy. For each trial, review or guideline, PEDro provides the citation details, the abstract and a link to the full text, where possible.
- Trip Database – Clinical Search Engine Clinical search tool to rapidly identify the highest quality clinical evidence for clinical practice. Registered users (registration is free) benefit from extra features such as CPD, search history, and collaborative tools.