As future public health professionals, your ability to find, evaluate, and apply high-quality information is essential for improving population health, addressing health disparities, and informing evidence-based practice and policy.
Strong research skills will help you:
Identify evidence-based strategies for disease prevention and health promotion
Support community interventions and policy recommendations with credible data
Stay current on emerging public health issues and best practices
Contribute to academic scholarship and professional dialogue
Evaluate programs, analyze outcomes, and write grant proposals
These key resources will help you get started:
PubMed – A comprehensive database of biomedical and clinical literature; essential for accessing peer-reviewed articles relevant to public health, medicine, and health policy.
Web of Science – A multidisciplinary database offering citation analysis and access to influential scholarly articles. You can also create a web-based EndNote account here to manage your citations.
Coronavirus Research Database – Focuses on COVID-19 and other coronavirus-related research, providing up-to-date publications on virology, epidemiology, and public health response.
EBSCOhost Databases (Environment Complete / GreenFILE) – Offers coverage of environmental health, sustainability, and policy topics relevant to public and environmental health research.
StatRef – A collection of authoritative reference books covering clinical guidelines, public health practice, and more.
JOVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments) – Peer-reviewed video journal that demonstrates research techniques and experimental protocols in an easy-to-understand visual format.
VisualDx – Primarily a dermatology-focused tool useful for identifying conditions across diverse populations; helpful in public health education and outreach.
AVON (Academic Video Online) – A rich library of academic documentaries, case studies, and training videos across healthcare and social sciences.
Downstate Publications Portal – Showcases scholarly works by Downstate faculty, clinicians, and researchers, offering insights into ongoing research and institutional expertise.
Need help finding or using Downstate Library resources? We're here to help!
Email us: reference@downstate.edu or use our online form.