PA Databases
Databases are the workhorses of journal article searching. Since research topics can be in found in many different disciplines and in a huge number of journals, using the right database to search across the appropriate variety of journals is crucial.
Read the descriptions and experiment with the ones on this page to learn which are best for your given search effort. What’s right for one search effort might not be for another.
If you already have in mind a database that will be best for your search effort and don’t see it on this page, check our All Databases page.
Top Databases
AccessMedicine* Medical textbooks, including Harrison’s Online, Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment, and Tintinalli’s Emergency Medicine. Also includes patient education handouts and Human Anatomy Modules.
ClinicalKey* A decision-support tool designed for medical clinicians with a variety of clinical resources. It has over 650 journals, 1,100 medical reference books, instructional videos, practice guidelines, medical images, and abstracts from the MEDLINE database.
- PA Core Education Library* Over 90 ebooks including the Bates Guide, Grant’s Dissector, & Grant’s Atlas of Anatomy; audio & video content, self-assessments, journal articles, case studies, and more
- PA Rotations/Specialties Library* Over 80 ebooks in Emergency, Internal, & Family Medicine, OB/GYN, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, & Surgery, plus Journal Club, self assessments, and cases
PubMed Go-to resource for many health science professionals. Paid for by tax dollars rather than tuition, it’s one that will be accessible after completion of the PA program. A large and very comprehensive database that is an excellent place to conduct health science literature research. It searches the MEDLINE database and other journals in health science-related fields.
- Use the above link instead of a Google search for access to articles in Arcadia’s online holdings.
- For items not held by Arcadia, check Find a Journal for our print holdings, request through Interlibrary Loan, or see Can’t Find Full-text?
- PubMed offers several tutorials and help guides ranging from 2 minute videos to hours-long deep dives at https://learn.nlm.nih.gov/documentation/training-packets/T0042010P/
Next Databases
Biomedical Reference Collection* Compare to PubMed. Contains over 4,000 full-text journals covering a variety of disciplines ranging from biomedicine and health sciences to the health care system and pre-clinical sciences.
ScienceDirect* Scholarly articles from scientific, technical, and medical journals. A product of the major academic publisher Elsevier
Ovid: MEDLINE search interface plus Journals and Books@Ovid:
- Journals@Ovid* Scholarly articles from scientific, technical, and medical journals.
- PICO Resource Center @Ovid
- Term Finder (for MeSH terms) quick reference
- Guide to searching Ovid from University College London.
The Cochrane Library “Cochrane” is a well-regarded, regularly updated collection of review abstracts on many medical topics. Their resources include their database of Systematic Reviews, Clinical Trials, and Clinical Answers.
Other Databases
Academic Search Ultimate* A large, academically multidisciplinary article database that is a very good place to start a scholarly literature search.
Wiley Online Library Wiley offers an exceptional portfolio of over 1,600 journals covering the full spectrum of medicine & health sciences as well as a broad range of other subject areas, and include many titles ranked at the forefront of their field.
Psychology Subject Guide A list of Landman Library’s mental and behavioral health databases.
Journals
A list of select top journals for physician assistants like JAAPA* (The Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants).
Since research topics can be in found in many different disciplines and in a huge number of journals, it’s usually best to use a database. Still, it can be useful to know which are some of the most important journals in a field. Look for other journals in Find a Journal*.
Note: Links can break without advance notice. If one doesn’t work, use Find a Journal* to find a fresh link.
Selected Titles
JAAPA* Official Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants
The Lancet* “The Lancet is the world’s leading independent general medical journal. The journal’s coverage is international in focus and extends to all aspects of human health” (from publisher).
PLOS Medicine An open access journal, one whose content is freely available without charge to readers. “An influential venue for research and commentary on the major challenges to human health worldwide, PLOS Medicine publishes articles of general interest on biomedical, environmental, social and political determinants of health. The journal emphasizes work that advances clinical practice, health policy or pathophysiological understanding to benefit health in a variety of settings” (from publisher).
The American Journal of Medicine* “Official Journal of the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine” (from publisher).
Full-text
1. Sometimes you have a citation in hand for an article.
2. Sometimes a journal database or internet browser doesn’t provide full-text.
Learn the steps to find another database where it might be.
Get articles to journals we don’t even subscribe to with Interlibrary Loan*.
*Arcadia University login credentials required.
