Population Health

This guide will help you find the information you need for your studies. Please use the menu on the left to navigate the guide. 

The Health Sciences Library (RGN) and the Morisset Library (main campus) are now open! Some library services are affected by the current pandemic. Please check the Library's service updates page for up to date information on our services and the libraries opening hours.

Health Sciences Library Hours

Hours : 

• Monday - Thursday 8:00 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.
• Friday 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
• Saturday & Sunday 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

The service desk closes 15 minutes earlier than the library.

Check UOttawa service updates for more information on:

• Health and safety measures when visiting the library
• Access to the library’s physical collections (Contactless Pickup, Scan-on-Demand, Home Delivery Service)
• Individual study spaces
• Computer Access
• Remote desktop access to specialized software
• 3D printing...

Start by formulating a solid search strategy

Before you begin searching the literature, it's important to have properly defined your topic and chosen appropriate key words.

Choose appropriate search tools:

• Looking for research articles, search key databases in epidemiology and public health;
• If your research is multidisciplinary, consider searching other subject databases.  Consult the appropriate research guides to identify key resources.

If you cannot find an article full-text through OMNI or one of our databases, you can use the interlibrary loan service to request it from another university. The system we use to request articles is called RACER.

More about interlibrary loan, including instructions.

Grey literature is defined as information "produced on all levels of government, academics, business and industry in electronic and print formats not controlled by commercial publishing" Greynet

Here are some example of Grey Literature:

• Reports (Annual, Government, Technical, etc.)
• Research papers
• Theses and dissertations
• Patents
• Statistics
• Clinical Trials
• Conference Proceedings
• and more

There are many places to find grey literature. Where you look, depends on your research question. Below are some selected resources that researchers have found useful in population health.

Omni is the Library catalogue which will give you access to the complete library collection, including books, ebooks, journals, videos, and more:

• Simple Search : type your terms/words in the box
• Advanced Search
• Guide: How to Use Omni

Here is a non-exhaustive list of e-book collections in Health and Medicine.

*** Nouveau **** New ****

Bienvenue aux Ateliers sur demande | Instant Workshops, petits cours gratuits et libres en compétences numériques au niveau de l’enseignement supérieur, tant en français qu’en anglais. Exemple de contenu:

• Lier Google Scholar à la bibliothèque de votre établissement
• Les Infographies
• Gestionnaire de mots de passe
• Identifier le contenu évalué par les pairs
• et plus...

Welcome to Ateliers sur demande | Instant Workshops, free and open short lessons on digital skills for higher education in French and English. Here some presentations:

• Blockers for Online Ads and Data Collection
• Infographics
• Linking Google Scholar to Your Institution’s Library
• Identifying Peer-Reviewed Content
• and more...

Discover the Medical Humanities

The Library subscribes to countless films and music which you can stream online. Check it out!

     Films and videos

     Listen to Music

Systematic Reviews

If you want to explore and consulte the ressources of Cochrane Training

• Manuals to explore:  See Section Cochrane Guides and Handbooks 
• Protocole: article and explainations of Prisma-P
• Register your protocol: Prospero
• Videos: Explore  YouTube channel of Cochrane Training

For more information on what you need to know when starting a comprehensive review, don't hesitate to consult the uOttawa Library Systematic Review Guide: https://uottawa.libguides.com/systematicreview

Scoping Review

• Explore and consult  informations from Joanna Briggs Institute.  See section Resources in the Scoping Review Network
• Manual to consult :  JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis
• Protocol: Article and template  Prisma-ScR
• Videos: explore the channel of  JBI YouTube

University of Ottawa Library now has an institutional subscription to Covidence, a web-based software platform that streamlines the production of systematic reviews. It should be noted that, while Covidence specifically mentions systematic reviews, it has also been used for comprehensive literature reviews, scoping reviews, meta-syntheses, meta-narratives, and other types of literature reviews. It can also be used for any discipline including health sciences, medicine, social sciences, environmental sciences, biology, management, education, and so forth.

For more information, please visit our libguide Covidence

To learn more about  Covidence:

• For new users,   Webinars   are available on the website of Covidence
• Watch training videos available on  Covidence YouTube Channel
• You have questions ?? Explore Covidence Knowledge Base  the FAQ page for the users
• Our  guides:

**** Nouveauté ****** New ****

Covidence a amélioré sa fonction de récupération des PDFs / Covidence improved its PDF upload tool.

Voir le vidéo et les explications (en anglais) /  See tutorial and explanations : Improved bulk PDF upload tool. 

Learn about avoiding plagiarism and different citation styles in these guides from the Academic Writing Help Centre:

• Citation Styles

It is important to document every quotation, paraphrase and idea that is not your own.

Citation Style Manuals and Guides

These documents give you step-by-step instructions to the main functions of various citation managers, such as:

• Creating an account
• Creating folders
• Exporting references
• Removing duplicates
• Creating a bibliography

Having trouble finding the perfect article or resource for your research project? Or are you interested in undertaking a systematic review and don't know where to start? I can help! Whether it's on an individual basis or in a small group, I can meet with you to get your project started or to help you get out of a bind. Please use the appointment scheduling system below or contact me by email. Thank you.