Bioethics Research Guide

The purpose of this research guide is to introduce students to information sources available for research in bioethics.  For questions contact the Bioethics Librarian Trisha Compton  at  tcompton@tiu.edu or (847)317-4009.

Searching and Browsing for Books

Use the subject search in TrinCat to search for books in Rolfing Library , in I-Share to search for books in other Illinois academic libraries or in WorldCat to search nationally for books not available at  Rolfing or other Illinois academic libraries. Try searching some of these major subject headings for locating books in the Rolfing collection relevant to bioethics. 

Or  perhaps you would would rather browse through the books in the library.  Be aware that as bioethics is an interdisciplinary subject, the books are scattered throughout the Library. These Library of Congress call number ranges will guide you in finding areas with relevant books. When you find a good book on a topic, the ones near it on the shelf will probably be similar in subject. To find out on where the books are located, check the collection map located at the reference opacs and throughout the library. Recently acquired materials in Bioethics are posted periodically to the new books page.

Reference Resources (Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, Bibliographies, etc.)

Encyclopedias and dictionaries are generally a good place for beginning research into subjects in bioethics.  Brief to extensive overviews of topics are given and in some instances reading lists for further research.  The resources listed below are located in the Reference Collection.

Call #: QH332 .E52 2004
Encyclopedia of bioethics / Stephen G. Post, editor in chief.

Call #: R724 .S599 1998
Source book in bioethics / edited by Albert R. Jonsen, Robert M. Veatch, LeRoy Walters.

Call #: BJ63 .E44 1998
Encyclopedia of applied ethics / [editor-in-chief, Ruth Chadwick].

Call #: BM538.H43 S7413 2003
Encyclopedia of Jewish medical ethics : a compilation of Jewish medical law on all topics of medical interest ... / compiled and written by Avraham Steinberg ; translated by Fred Rosner.

Call #: B51 .R68 1998
Routledge encyclopedia of philosophy / general editor, Edward Craig.

Call #Z6675.E8B53
Bibliography of Bioethics   - "An ongoing researchproject of the Kennedy Institute, Center for Bioethics at Georgetown University."  Supported in party by a grant from the National Library of Medicine.

Journals

Journals can be an excellent source of current and specific information on an issue in bioethics. Some journals cover very broad issues while others are relatively narrow in scope. If you are trying to select a topic for research, or if you'd just like to browse current literature, why not check out some of the  journal titles accessible through Rolfing Library in print?

The fulltext of the majority of the print journals and numerous other bioethics focused journals are available online through Rolfing Library subscriptions.

Searching and Browsing for Journals

The first place to go when you are looking for journal or magazine articles, is one of our online databases. There are a number of prefered databases for finding articles related to bioethics. Rolfing subscribes to several which give different views of the discipline. Please ask a librarian for help finding information on your topic in any of these databases.

Citation Indexes & Databases

MEDLINE - All areas of medicine, including dentistry and nursing. Corresponds to the print indexes Index Medicus, Index to Dental Literature, and International Nursing Index. 1966 to present.

Social Science Full Text - 1995-current.  The latests concepts, trends, opinions, theories, and methods from both applied and theoretical aspects of the social sciences.

ATLA Religion Database - includes comprehensive religious topics including Chrisitan/theological ethics.

Philosopher's Index -1940 - present.  Provides indexing and abstracts from books and journals of philosophy and related fields.

ECO - 1995–current. An OCLC collection of scholarly journals. Covers numerous subjects, including science. Abstracts and full-text articles.

Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition - Provides full text for 480 scholarly journals, and indexing and abstracting for over 510 journals.

If you are looking for general information, including news and non-scholarly magazine articles, one good place to look is in one or more of our general databases, such as Academic Search Premier.

Power Search - Seamless simultaneous keyword searching in 31 EbscoHost database subscriptions available to TIU.

Citation Tools

RefWorks  - software which composes a bibliography for you in different style formats.

TIU Style and Format Guide: For Writers of Graduate Research Papers, M.A. and Th.M. Theses, D.Min. Professional Projects, and Ph.D. Dissertations.  

TIU Copyright Handbook

Searching and Browsing the Internet

Websites:

If you are interested in exploring bioethics issues though the internet be aware that many sites are biased with regard to the issues so you will want to evaluate each site on the basic criteria of accuracy, authority, currency, and objectivity.  A few sites to visit include:

Bioethics Library & Information Services Gateway  - (Kennedy Institute of Ethics--Georgetown University).   - search for particular articles, books, audio-visuals, request a custom bibliography, retrieve biliographies on bioethics topics, and find publications, organizations, and syllabii.

Boethics.com  - links to other bioethics web sites, bioethics blogs, and bioethics centers, plus news and commentary on a wide range of issues in bioethics.

The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity - Born out of a major conference in May 1994, The Christian Stake in Bioethics, CBHD is now a national and international leader in producing a wide range of live, recorded, and written resources examining bioethical issues from a Christian perspective. Areas of interest include bioethics, biotechnology, cloning, end of life, genetics, health care and clinical ethics, reproductive ethics, sanctity of life, and stem cell research.  

Applied Ethics Resources on WWW - The resources on this site, hosted by EthicsWeb.ca, are arranged by discipline. Areas of interest include health care ethics, environmental ethics, animal welfare & the ethics of animal use, science & technology ethics, and research ethics.  

Open Directory Project: Bioethics - These links, hand-selected and annotated by a researcher, cover animal rights, cloning, euthanasia, eugenics, genetic engineering, and research ethics. 

The Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Science (Case Western University) - This site offers resources in a variety of disciplines of applied ethics, including biological and environmental ethics (under the "natural science" tab).

Last updated 9/3/08.