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Michigan State University

Lyman Briggs Library Resources

Finding HPS Articles and Resources

Since HPS is interdisciplinary, the materials can sometimes be hard to find. There aren't many databases specifically for HPS. Usually you'll need to search in a database for a related subject area (history, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, etc.) that might contain articles on your topic. This guide gives you some good places to find HPS articles and primary sources, but they may not be the only places to look for your topic. Each library database searches a different set of journals, so the results you get will be different in each one. Here's a quick tutorial on how to find other relevant databases.

1. On the Database List page, click on the dropdown menu that says "All subject areas," and choose the subject area that seems closest to what you're looking for. You may want to try more than one subject area.

database list page, says "Find the best library databases for your research." Below that is a searchbox that says "search for databases," and below that two dropdown menus, "All subjects" and "all database types." "all subjects" has a red callout box.

2. Now you should see a list of databases that are pertinent to the subject you chose. At the top of the list, you'll see a "Best Bets" box. Those are the databases that the librarian in charge of that subject area recommends as the most general ones, meaning that almost anyone who's looking for articles on that topic will find something there.Try them first.

best bets! box for the public health databases. Contains entries for the Health Policy Reference Center and PubMed.

BUT there are more specific databases below that, and each one has a little blurb explaining what it's for. If one of them matches your topic, you may be in luck! The more specific the database is, the easier it will be to find relevant articles for your project.

Entry for the PILOTS database on the public health database list. A purple callout box says, "If you're researching PTSD, your search just got a million times easier!"