Introduction | Reference Sources | Indexes & Databases | Internet Resources | Citation Styles

For further research assistance, please contact Evelyn Greenlaw (evelyng@usm.maine.edu; 753-6541), Occupational Therapy Liaison, Lewiston-Auburn Campus Library, University of Southern Maine. E-mail and appointments for research assistance are also available through our Ask a Librarian service.

Below are some of the more frequently used resources in Occupational Therapy. See also the subject guides for Social and Behavioral Sciences, Psychology, Sociology, and Health.

In order to find books, journal titles, videos, government documents and other materials held in the University of Maine System, consult URSUS, the online catalog. Because journal article citations are not individually included in URSUS use a discipline-specific index to find this information (see Resources by Subject).

To find materials located elsewhere in Maine, check MaineCat. To find materials worldwide which you may be able to borrow, check WorldCat. To obtain materials not located at USM but still within URSUS or MaineInfoNet, you will need to click on the Request button on the screen and enter your name and barcode number (found under the barcode on your USM Card, which begins with 25022....). Note: your barcode will first need to be activated at any USM Circulation Desk. If the item is not available through URSUS or Maine InfoNet, you can request it via Interlibrary Loan (Illiad).

The following is a listing of selected subject headings relating to Occupational Therapy. Each subject heading is hotlinked directly to URSUS.

Occupational therapy

Developmental disabilities

Human Engineering (Ergonomics)

Gerontology

Pediatrics

Art therapy

Music therapy

Recreational therapy

Rehabilitation

Kinesiology

People with disabilities

People with disabilities -- Related subject headings

Mentally ill -- rehabilitation

If you do not know the exact subject heading describing the topic you need, try doing a keyword search using other word/s related to that topic (such as "occupational science")and then click on the subject heading links found within the relevant records to find additional, useful resources.

You can also find books of interest in the following call number ranges in the Library of Congress classification scheme, which is how USM arranges and catalogs its books.

BF = Psychology

HM-HX = Sociology

L = Education

QM-QP = Anatomy and Physiology

R = Medicine

R123 = Medical terminology

RC 487 = Mental health

RC489 = Music therapy

RJ505 = Art therapy

RM700 = Physical therapy

RM735 = Occupational therapy

Quick Reference Dictionary for Occupational Therapy. 4th ed. LEW Reference RM735 .J345 2004

Willard and Spackman's Occupational Therapy. 10th ed. LEW Stacks RM735 .O29 2003

Asher, Ina Elfant. Occupational Therapy Assessment Tools: an annotated index. 2nd ed. LEW Reference RM735 .A84 1996

Because of the lenghty publishing cycle for a book, information in a book is not always current. Periodical articles are current sources of information. There are two main types of periodicals: scholarly and popular. Scholarly periodicals are usually referred to as journals. Articles in journals contain reports of primary research; the articles are written by experts in the field and for other researchers/scholars; use terms and language specific to that discipline; may include graphs, charts, etc. related to the topic; most often are peer reviewed via an editorial board; are published by professional organization or society, university, research centers, scholarly presses; and often include a bibliography. Popular periodical articles contain general information; are written using easily understood language that appeals to a varied audience; are usually written by journalists or others who are not experts in the field; do not include citations; has a limited or non-existent editorial review board; and may contain glossy photographs. The Finding Articles tutorial provides more information on how to find articles.

To find scholarly articles it is necessary to consult a discipline-specific electronic or print index/database. The following are electronic indexing sources available to the Unversity of Southern Maine community.

Occupational therapy specific:

OT Search
This database is not full-text, but is a bibliographic index to resources on specific topics in the field of occupational therapy. It also represents the holdings of the AOTA Wilma L. West Library. OT Search has its own thesaurus (database specific terminology) and tutorials for basic and advanced search techniques. This database is available on campus, or by password for OT students off-campus. Please contact the LAC library staff for access.

CINAHL
Premier database for nursing and allied health literature. Includes references to journals, American Nurses' Association and National League for Nursing publications, nursing standards of practice, and critical paths. Updated monthly.

Medline
Index to more than 3,600 journals covering all areas of clinical and experimental medicine, nursing, dentistry and health administration. Updated weekly.

PubMed
Developed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), PubMed is a major medical database. It provides access to bibliographic/abstracting information from MEDLINE, plus out-of-scope citations from certain MEDLINE journals; citations that precede the date that a journal was selected for MEDLINE indexing; and some additional life science journals that submit full-text and receive a qualitative review by NLM. Included are links to many sites with full-text articles.

Related indexes and databases:

Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews
Evidence Based Medicine Reviews is a collection of four databases: 1. ACP Journal Club; 2. Cochrane Controlled Clinical Trials Register; 3. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and 4. Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE). This provides a definitive resource for electronic information in the evidence based medicince (EBM) movement.

ERIC
The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) provides education information for K-12 teachers, school administrators, education faculty, school psychologists and education students. ERIC is sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education. This bibliographic database of more than 1.1 million citations goes back to 1966. More than 107,000 full-text non-journal documents (from years 1993-2004) are included in the database. Full-text articles are also available from more than 80% of the 1,000 education-related journals indexed.

SportDiscus
SPORTDiscus covers all aspects of sports. Subjects include biomechanics, coaching, engineering, physical therapy, and physiology. Indexes over 2,000 journals as well as books, theses, and non-print resources. Updated monthly.

PsycInfo
Index to the professional and academic literature in psychology and related disciplines, including medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, physiology, linguistics, and other areas. Coverage includes references and abstracts to over 1,300 journals in more than 20 languages, and to book chapters and books in the English language. The database includes information from empirical studies, case studies, surveys, bibliographies, literature reviews, discussion articles, conference reports and dissertations. Updated weekly.

Academic Search Premier
Provides full text for nearly 4,000 scholarly publications of which 3,100 are peer reviewed. Academic areas of study include: social sciences, humanities, education, computer sciences, engineering, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, and ethnic studies.

HealthSource:Nursing-Academic Edition
Provides nearly 540 scholarly full text journals focusing on many medical disciplines. Also featured are abstracts and indexing for over 570 journals. This product offering also includes USP Pharmacopoeia DI: Volume II Advice for the Lay Patient and Stedman's Medical Dictionary - providing users with access to terminology of genetics, oncology, pediatrics, pulmonology, emergency medicine, bacteriology, and laboratory medicine. Coverage of nursing and allied health is particularly strong.

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses
Index to dissertations from 1861 to the present, representing the work of authors from over 1,000 North American graduate schools and European universities. Includes the 350-word abstracts written by the author for those dissertations published after 1979. More limited coverage of master's theses from 1962 on (UM theses are not included); citations for those published after 1987 include 150-word abstracts. Database includes full text of dissertations written at the University of Maine after 1996.

IngentaConnect
Index to the tables of contents of 17,000 English language periodicals. Covers all disciplines. Updated daily. NOTE: Full text access available ONLY with subscriptions to individual titles. Check your library for holdings.

Biomedical Reference Collection: Basic
Designed for doctors, research scientist, students, clinical specialists and managers, this database provides full text for over 100 journals in a variety of areas pertaining to medical study.

Oxford Reference Online: Medicine
Fulltext of six health-related dictionaries under the subheading Medicine.

There is no authority control for the Internet. In choosing Internet resources it is imperative to evaluate the authenticity of the source. Thinking Critically about Discipline-Based World Wide Web Resources (UCLA College Library) provides excellent evaluation criteria. The following selected resources have been chosen because of authenticity and comprehensiveness of coverage.

Resources:

ADA Homepage
The official U.S. Dept of Justice Americans with Disabilities Act homepage, with links to information for business, nonprofits, state and local government, and standards for accessible design.

NARIC: National Rehabilitation Information Center and its RehabData database.
The database describes over 65,000 documents covering physical, mental, and psychiatric disabilities, independent living, vocational rehabilitation, special education, assistive technology, law, employment, and other issues as they relate to people with disabilities. The collection span 1956 to the present.

OT Direct Occupational Therapy Links
This British website includes many useful (and current) links to Australian, European, and US occupational therapy sites. Includes a large listing for occupational science.

OT Seeker
OTseeker is a database that contains abstracts of systematic reviews and randomised controlled trials relevant to occupational therapy. Trials have been critically appraised and rated to assist you to evaluate their validity and interpretability. These ratings will help you to judge the quality and usefulness of trials for informing clinical interventions. In one database, OTseeker provides you with fast and easy access to trials from a wide range of sources.

MEDLine Plus: Rehabilitation
MedlinePlus will direct you to information to help answer health questions. MedlinePlus brings together authoritative information from NLM, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and health-related organizations. Preformulated MEDLINE searches are included in MedlinePlus and give easy access to medical journal articles. MedlinePlus also has extensive information about drugs, an illustrated medical encyclopedia, interactive patient tutorials, and latest health news.

Associations:

American Occupational Therapy Association
The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) is the nationally recognized professional association of approximately 35,000 occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, and students of occupational therapy.

World Federation of Occupational Therapists
The World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) is the key international representative for Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy around the world and the official international organisation for the promotion of Occupational Therapy. Founded in 1952, WFOT currently has 60 member associations. The Document Centre has many publications in pdf format.

National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy
The National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc. (NBCOT®) is a not-for-profit credentialing agency that provides certification for the occupational therapy profession.

Society for the Study of Occupation: USA
The mission of the Society for the Study of Occupation is to facilitate high quality scholarship and a dynamic exchange of ideas that support the discipline of occupational science.

In using resources it is imperative that they be used ethically and legally. The sources listed here provide assistance in following correct citation methods.

Endnote is a personal reference database program, for which USM has purchased a site license. The main functions of this program include maintaining a database of your references, downloading references for you from other databases, using the references in word-processing, and generating a bibliography in the correct style for publications. See the Endnote Help for further information.

APA Documentation (University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center)

St. Martin's Handbook
Por, LEW Reference PE1112 .L86
Contains sections on the writing process, sentence construction, punctuation, doing research, and academic writing.

Writer's Reference
LEW, POR, GOR Reference PE1408 .H2778
Includes sections on composing and revising, design, sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, writing, and documentation.

Dissertations and Theses from Start to Finish : Psychology and Related Fields
LEW Reference BF76.5 .C645 1993

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed.
POR and GOR Reference BF76.7 .P83 2001; LEW Permanent Reserve BF76.7 .P83 2001

Online: A Reference Guide to Using Internet Sources

Using American Psychological Association (APA) Format (Updated to 5th Edition) (Purdue University Online Writing Lab)

Last Update: 01.09.08 eag