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The University of Arizona Health Sciences

Research Information Resources

Searching for Literature

There are many sources available to locate literature. No single database is comprehensive. It is a good idea to look in more than one database as well as in online resources when checking to see if the work you are embarking on has already been done or if your looking for literature to establish the premise of your research.

Here are select resources that may be helpful to get you started, available through the "See Health Databases" Recommended list on the Arizona Health Sciences Library website:


For additional databases see the A- Z Database List.

The library provides a service to obtain the full text of articles that we may not have as a journal subscription. If you are unable to obtain the full text of an article through lib.arizona.edu/hsl, consider submitting a request.

Search for abstracts presented at conferences to get at the latest research.  A few databases include conference proceedings. It may be more targeted to go to an affiliated association and look at conference proceedings.

Search for ongoing research to see the latest research that is in progress.

International clinical trial registries:

  • WHO ICTRP
  • HSRProj (archived since 2021. Accessible archive and alternative suggestions listed)

Preprints can be a way to get research on emerging topics, like viruses or public health issues. Caution! Preprints are preliminary completed works and are not peer-reviewed publications.

  • medRxiv:  This is a preprint server for health sciences research.  Read more about medRxiv here.

Find Health Statistics by Topic- A table of topics and statistics sources, maintained by the Network of the National Library of Medicine.

  • Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has statistics on health topics, diseases, outbreaks, and other important health information for the U.S. use the search or browse by disease of topic.