PHIL 235 (Adam Bowen)

Welcome!

This guide is for students in Dr. Adam Bowen's PHIL 235 class. 

Through the semester you'll need to research topics related to bioethics, medical ethics, applied ethics, and ethical topics in healthcare.  

Use this guide for suggestions for how you might approach doing that research.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS as you're using these library resources:

• If you need quick, immediate help: Use the Chat or Call options on the Ask a Librarian page.
• If you have a little time or a more intricate question: Email me (Susan Taylor at setaylor@bsu.edu), describing your topic and what you're having trouble with.  I'll write you back as soon as I can.
• Don't be shy or embarrassed about needing assistance. Just reach out!

To search like a pro, use the CHOP, DROP, and OR technique.  This technique can be used in many library databases.

CHOP your topic into the different concepts involved.

• Sample topic: ethical topics surrounding biomedical research on humans
• Concepts: ethics, biomedical, research, humans

DROP each concept into a separate search box on an Advanced Search screen.  (I'll have to add extra search boxes to do this search.)

Then think of whether there are different spellings, synonyms, or related words for each concept and type them in (if there are), using OR between them.  Here are the synonyms/related terms I thought of:

• biomedical OR biomedicine OR medical
• research OR experiments OR experimentation

Here's how those terms might be put into an Advanced Search form in OneSearch.

All of the documents that show up in the results list from this search will include:

• the word "ethics" and
• at least one of the words in the biomedical box and
• at least one of the words in the research box and
• the word "human."  

​This allows you to cast your net wide so your results include writings from authors who use slightly different ways to describe your topic.

Then, of course, you want to evaluate what you find.

• When you see a good title, that seems on-target topic-wise, read through and note if it uses different terms you could incorporate into your search.
• You may find research that leads you in a new direction with your research.  Follow it!
• Remember that library research like this can take time.  Be patient and be willing to scroll down through your list.

Because OneSearch is multi-disciplinary, covering the sciences, social sciences, humanities, etc., searching in OneSearch allows you to search for sources touching on your topic from a wide variety of perspectives.  This can be great -- and sometimes overwhelming.  Also note that OneSearch allows you to search for both scholarly and more popular treatment of your topic.

Because Philosopher's Index has a much narrower focus than OneSearch, it is significantly smaller.  But you can trust that everything you find from searching in it has some relation to philosophy or ethics, and the vast majority of the articles are scholarly in nature.  And it can be nicer to have a smaller pool of records to go through.

Since Academic Search Premier is multi-disciplinary, covering the sciences, social sciences, and humanities, it can be useful when looking for a philosophical stance taken from outside the realm of philosophers.

Tips for searching in OneSearch:

• Use the Advanced Search option in OneSearch when you're searching by topic.
• On the Advanced Search page, use the CHOP, DROP, and OR technique.
  • ​For example, if you're researching the ethics of the use of AI in healthcare, your search could look like this:

​

• Under "Refine Your Search" on the left, consider limiting to:
  • Scholarly & Peer-Reviewed
• If your results seem to be off-topic, scroll down and look under "Discipline" on the left:
  • Choose an area to focus on.
  • ​
• Clicking on the "Quick Look" button under titles of interest will allow you to learn more about the title, and often includes the full abstract (summary) of the article.
• If you find other terms you'd like to add into your search, click the "Advanced" link to the right of the search box at the top.

​

• Then you can work your new terms in, either as a new concept (in a new box - as shown here), or as a related term (using OR):

• To get to the full article, look for a  "View Now" or "Full Text Online" link.

Tips for searching in Philosopher's Index:

• The Philosopher's Index is significantly smaller than OneSearch.  You may need to describe your search in broader terms.
• Because everything has a philosophical focus, you don't need to include "ethics" or "philosophy" in your search terms.
• You can use the same CHOP, DROP, and OR technique mentioned above if your research topic has some complexity.
• Use the limits under "Source Type" on the left to focus your results on academic journals.  (Book reviews will not be helpful for you.)
• If an article you want does not have a PDF or HTML full-text link, click on Find It @ Ball State to see if you can get to the article another way.  (More information about Find It.)

To explore the topic of end of life decision-making, I could search like this:

This record might interest me, and give me the idea of narrowing my search to include "futility."

My search, then, could look like this, so that the results are focusing on any terms with "futility" in them:

Once you've chosen an article based on its record in the database you're searching, bring up the full text by either clicking on the PDF or HTML full text link, or by clicking on .  (More information about Find It.)

Tips for searching in Academic Search Premier:

• This database is smaller than OneSearch, but still includes a broad range of disciplines, including the sciences, humanities, and social sciences.
• The search interface is the same as that of Philosopher's index.
• To find discussion with a philosophical perspective, you need to include "ethics" or "philosophy" in your search terms.
• You can use the same CHOP, DROP, and OR technique mentioned above if your research topic has some complexity.
• Use the limits under "Source Type" on the left to focus your results on academic journals and/or magazine articles.  (Book reviews will not be helpful for you.)
• If an article you want does not have a PDF or HTML full-text link, click on Find It @ Ball State to see if you can get to the article another way.  (More information about Find It.)

Here's a sample search:

For the topic of the ethics of the ethics of genetic engineering, this search brings up:

Leads me to this record, where I see the phrase "Human Rights" in the subject field as well as the title.

This gives me the idea of incorporating that concept into my search.  I'll add a search box and type that word in.  This will narrow my results to articles which include "human rights."

Once you've chosen an article you're interested in based on its record in the database you're searching, bring up the full text by either clicking on the PDF or HTML full text link, or by clicking on .  (More information about Find It.)