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Dental Hygiene & Dental Assisting Overview

Guide created to support research in dental hygiene & dental assisting at TCC

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Where do I start?

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Read over your assignment. Do you understand what you need to do? Having a clear understanding of your task will help you develop a successful plan to get it done.

See if you can answer the following questions:

  • What is your assignment? (a presentation, paper, annotated bibliography, etc.)
  • Do you have to come up with a topic, or was one given to you? (If you have to come up with your own, are there any limits given regarding what your topic can be? Do you need to formulate a clinical research question using PICO?)
  • What types of works can you use as sources? (Journal articles, books, websites, etc.)
  • How many sources do you need?
  • What citation style does your instructor want you to use to cite your sources? (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.)
  • When is your assignment due?
How you go about your search is going to be guided by your information need. For example, if you are looking for a book written by a specific author you are going to take a different approach to finding that information than if you are trying to find evidence regarding whether mouthwash A or mouthwash B is more effective in controlling gingivitis.

 

If you are working on a research assignment and your instructor did not provide you a certain topic, you will need to figure out what you are going to write about. If you have to choose your own topic, there are lots of places that you can get ideas from: 

  • Class discussions or coursework
  • Current events or news
  • Topics you are interested in or want to know more about 

If you have to write about topics specific to the subject area that you are studying, looking through the latest issues of dental-related periodicals might give you ideas for topics currently relevant to the dental field and your future profession. The library has access to many dental-related journals online as well as dental-related print periodicals available at the NE Campus library. 

If you have questions about whether a specific topic/research question is acceptable for your assignment, check your assignment instructions and/or check with your instructor.  

 

If you are researching a clinical question, using PICO allows you to develop a focused and searchable question, identifying the main concepts that you will use as the basis to build a search strategy. If you are working on a different type of assignment, you should still consider whether your topic is too general and, if it is, how you can narrow it. Having a focused topic will help you search for information without having to sort through lots of irrelevant results.   

Identify the main ideas of your topic and the words used to describe them. Using PICO for clinical questions puts your research question into a focused and searchable format by identifying those key concepts that you will use as the basis to build your search strategy. If researching a PICO question, your main ideas are your P, I, C, and O.

After you identify your key concepts, see if you can think of any synonyms or other related words that might also be used to talk about these same ideas.

Example: silver diamine fluoride for management of dental caries

  • Key concept: dental caries
    • Additional keywords: dental cavities, tooth decay...
  • Key concept: silver diamine fluoride

Then start putting these keywords together with AND/OR to build a search. Use parentheses to control how the database searches your words.

Example: (dental caries OR dental cavities OR tooth decay) AND silver diamine fluoride

As you find relevant results, you may come across keywords that you hadn't thought of. Look to see what subject terms in the database are assigned to relevant articles and use some of these in your search too. Different words will pull different results. Revise your search strategy and search again as needed.

Database subject terms

The image shows two screenshots. The first screenshot, from the CINAHL database, shows an arrow pointing left to a circle around the words "Detailed Record", which is where you click in the article record to view the assigned subjects. An arrow pointing right to a circle around Major and Minor subjects shows where in the article record to locate these subject terms. The second screenshot, from the PubMed database, has an arrow pointing to a circle around "MeSH terms". This is what you would look for in the article record to locate the assigned subject terms.

General Search Strategies

Venn diagram showing only the intersecting part of two overlapping circles shaded in

Results only include those with both of your keywords.

Example: 

gingivitis AND mouthwash

 

Venn diagram with intersecting and non-intersecting parts shaded in

Results include those with either one or both of your keywords.

Example: 

dental caries OR dental cavities
 

quotation marks

Put quotation marks around your keywords to search them as a phrase.

Example: 

"dental anxiety"

 

asterisk

Using an asterisk at the end of part of your search word will pull different endings, searching for many different keywords at one time.

Example: 

toothbrush* searches for toothbrush, toothbrushes, toothbrushing...

Choosing Quality Sources

check mark

Evaluate Your Sources! 

Remember to always evaluate all your sources! You want to make sure you are picking high quality, credible sources. Reviewing your sources using the C.A.A.R.P. guidelines will help you evaluate the currency, authority, accuracy, relevance, and purpose of the information you find.  

C.A.A.R.P. TEST
DOES THIS RESOURCE SMELL A LITTLE FISHY?

Picking the right sources is a key step to creating a high-quality research paper or presentation. Choosing resources is easier when you evaluate them with the C.A.A.R.P. guidelines.

Currency:
Currency guidelines vary depending on the topic. A literary analysis from five years ago may still be relevant, but a science research article published at the same time may be out of date.
  • When was the information written or posted?
  • Has the information been revised or reposted?
  • Is this resource timely for your topic?
  • Are there newer resources that are more appropriate?
Authority:
Authority is contextual. A good author for one topic may not be an expert in a different topic.
  • Who is responsible for this information? Is there an identified person or organization?
  • Is the author an expert on this particular topic?
  • What are the author’s qualifications and affiliations?
  • Can you independently verify (e.g., do an internet search) the author’s credentials?
Accuracy:
The information should be correct and verifiable.
  • Does the resource provide citations?
  • Can you verify the information in the resource from the citations or other sources?
  • Is the resource peer-reviewed?
  • Do the information and tone seem unbiased and free from emotion?
Relevance:
The resource fits your topic and is written to the right audience.
  • Is the information about your topic? Does it support your thesis?
  • Have you looked at a variety of other resources before deciding which ones are the best fit?
  • Who is the intended audience for this resource?
  • Is the resource written at the right level (e.g., the coverage is not too shallow or too in-depth)?
Purpose:
The purpose is the reason the information exists.
  • Is the purpose of the information to inform, teach, entertain, persuade, or sell?
  • Is the information fact, opinion, or propaganda?
  • Is the information objective or biased?
These guidelines have been adapted from the Meriam Library at California State University.

Additional Resources

  • Click on the tab for additional resources.
  • To access library resources, use your TCC email and password when prompted to log in.

Keep in mind guides and tutorials from other libraries will link to and/or make reference to their own resources. TCC may or may not have access to the same or similar resources. Check the TCC library website to see if we have access to a specific resource.