http://faculty.valenciacc.edu/ckatz/pathfinders/alternative%20medicine.htm
SCOPE:
An increasing number of people are turning away from conventional MDs and
turning to unconventional medicine such as acupuncture, hypnosis, homeopathy,
biofeedback, and the like. The cause of this movement toward alternative
medicine is a topic of debate. So too is the efficacy of the individual
techniques. Extreme opponents of alternative medicine claim practitioners are
quacks practicing medical fraud. Others insist the techniques are legitimate
and should at least be offered to patients and even be reimbursed by insurance.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The following sources will allow you to become more familiar with your topic,
will give you ideas for narrowing your topic, and will serve as a starting
point for your further research.
CQ Researcher Issues (Hot Topics Table)
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome 2002 p.289+
Rethinking Ritalin 1999 p.905+
Alternative Medicine's Next Phase 1997 p. 121+
Alternative Medicine 1992 p. 73+
Health and Wellness: Illness among Americans (Hot Topics Table)
Health and Fitness: opposing viewpoints (Hot Topics Table)
Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide
REF R 733 .A484
Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
REF R 733.G35
Gale Encyclopedia of Science
REF Q 121 .G35
Encyclopedia of Bioethics
REF HM 30 .E52
Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants
REF RS 164 .P34
The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants
REF RS 164 .C4437
Nurses' Handbook of Alternative and Complementary Therapies
REF RT 42 .N83
The PDR Family Guide to Natural Medicines & Healing Therapies
REF R 733 .P38
SUGGESTED TOPICS:
This topic is one which can be studied from a number of aspects and points of
view. Some of these might be:
Should Medicaid reimburse patients for technologies, such as acupuncture,
Chiropractors, homeopathy, etc.?
Why are patients increasingly turning to alternative medicine?
Is Homeopathic medicine scientifically based?
Has there been a conspiracy among the "profit-driven" conventional community to
stifle workable cures or alternative medicine?
What are holistic healers?
Should insurance companies reimburse patients who use "unproven" treatments?
Is the National Council Against Health Fraud a helpful or a destructive
organization?
Does the interest in alternative medicine suggest conventional medicine is
failing?
Does the mind play an active role in creating susceptibility to disease?
Do conventional medical practitioners give drugs too readily?
Is conventional medicine too expensive and even dangerous?
Are there risks to using alternative medical treatments?
Can compound 714-X cure cancer?
Should alternative insurance be more widely available?
How effective has the Federal Office of Alternative Medicine been?
Is the scientific community finding alternative medical practices effective?
Has the conventional medical community been to quick to dismiss alternative
medical practices?
Can acupuncture help recovering addicts kick the habit?
Should federal funds be used to support alternative medicine programs?
Can hypnosis cure disease?
What are some kinds of alternative therapy and what illnesses do they purport
to treat?
Are alternative medicines used with children?
Are alternative treatments available for pets?
Can a patient receive "alternative treatments" from a medical doctor?
What is chelation therapy?
LINCC and Ebook SUBJECT HEADINGS:
Alternative Medicine
Holistic Medicine
Homeopathy
Mental Healing
Naturopathy
Traditional Medicine
BROWSE THESE CALL NUMBERS:
R 733 .A459 through R 733 .W65
RA 1213 through RC 271
FULL-TEXT DATABASES:
Electronic Database Search Strategies Chart
Academic Search Premier
An interdisciplinary database that provides access to approximately 4200
periodicals; over 3700 are in full-text.
FirstSearch
A collection of approximately 50 databases, including WilsonSelectPlus;
many of the databases contain full-text periodicals.
Health and Wellness Resource Center
Full-text articles and reference sources in the all health fields.
Issues and Controversies
Full-text periodical articles provide overview information for
controversial topics.
LexisNexis Academic Universe
Full-text documents from over 5600 news, business, legal, medical and
reference publications.
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center
Opinion, reference sources and full-text periodicals and books for
thousands of controversial topics.
SIRS Knowledge Source
Selected full-text popular periodical articles and government documents.
WEB SITES:
Web Search Engines Comparison Chart
Alternative Medicine Foundation
The Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine
Holistic Online
Classical Homeopathy
SAMPLE GOOGLE SEARCHES:
intitle:"alternative medicine" site:org
(title phrase and domain search)
intitle:"holistic medicine" treatment site:org
(title phrase and default AND search and domain search)
inurl:homeopathy
(url search)
naturopathy "mental healing" homeopathy
(phrase and default AND search)
EVALUATE YOUR SOURCES:
Distinguishing Between Popular and Scholarly Sources
Evaluating Data
Evaluating Internet Sources
Using Primary and Secondary Sources
DOCUMENT YOUR SOURCES:
APA Documentation of Books
APA Documentation of Electronic Sources
MLA Documentation of Books
MLA Documentation of Electronic Sources