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COH 692 - Public Health Capstone

What Are Reference Materials?

When starting your research, reference materials are a useful resource for finding background information on your topic. Some examples of reference materials include encyclopedias, almanacs, atlases, dictionaries, and more.

Find Reference

  Use these reference databases to search for topics, people, laws, theories, and more. Start with these best bets!

Credo Reference
Oxford Reference 
Gale Virtual Reference Library 
Sage Knowledge 

  Here are a few more reference databases with specialized information. Depending on your topic, these may be worth checking out!

Use subject-related handbooks and encyclopedias to find background information on your research topics. They are an excellent place to get a feel for the research trends within the discipline.  Explore some of the topics below:

Provides directory information and data for over 6,000 hospitals

Free hospital profiles

Use versatile search tools to explore our database of hospital information.  Create a list or a map of hospitals that match your interests.  View free hospital profiles that include key characteristics, services provided, utilization statistics, accreditation status, financial information, and more.  No registration is required.  Go

Free state & national stats

View key statistics summarized by hospital, state, and the nation.  Statistics include bed size, discharges, patient days, and gross patient revenue.  Go

SAGE Research Methods