LibGuides: *Pharmaceutical Science Research Guide: Research Tips

Citing Sources

Formatting your citations?

Citation format help is available for all citation formats used at Campbell: ACS, AMA, APA, Chicago, IEEE, MLA, and Turabian

If you're working on a major research project: RefWorks can you gather citations and create bibliographies!

When we cite and why we cite: the Using Information Ethically tutorial.

Wiggins Library for Research and Study

Your Library Card
View your current library loans (e.g. print books, technology) items and renew them online.

Library and Overnight Study Hours
View library hours, including overnight study area availability.

Room Reservations
Reserve a room in the library for group study, or reserve the Makerspace.

Printing & Scanning
Learn about printing in the library, including:

adding money to print
printing from your personal laptop
scanning documents as a PDF
printing a poster
laminating items

Using AI in Your Work

Citation requirements: AMA does not currently require AI citations in reference lists, but APA, MLA, and Chicago do. Always confirm your professor’s expectations, as some may prohibit AI use altogether. Many professors may want a statement on AI usage, if present.
Good uses: AI can help brainstorm, formulate questions, or get you started.
Limitations:
- Not a reliable source for articles or accessing information.
- Frequently creates incorrect or “hallucinated” citations. Professors do check citations!
- Should not generate your citations—use a citation manager like RefWorks or the official manual instead.
Accuracy matters: Always double-check AI output. This is especially critical in the health sciences, where mistakes can have serious consequences.

Sample admission of AI use (not a citation):
I used ChatGPT to help brainstorm questions and organize my ideas, but I reviewed and wrote the final content myself.

Library Tutorials Collection

Browse our Library Tutorials Collection for guidance on the following concepts:

Search Strategies
Research
Evaluating Sources
Citations
Using the Library

Research Tips

Peer-reviewed articles are:

written by subject experts in the field
reviewed by other subject experts
published in peer-reviewed (or "academic") journals
trusted and valued in academic communities

Peer-Review Basics:

Peer-Review Advanced:

Your research will uncover several types of sources: books, and two different types of articles broken down below. There are always exceptions, but this list will give you a sense of what to expect before you start looking!

Books

Target Audience: Mostly written for people interested in a subject but not necessarily experts.
Content: Long exploration of a topic with CONTEXT and THEORY. They might explain a topic top to bottom, or cover several perspectives.
Use: Context, theory, background, and sometimes an opportunity to find other sources using their footnotes/endnotes.

Scholarly/Academic Journal Articles

Target Audience: Written by active researchers in a field for other active researchers in that field.
Content: Usually NARROW and SPECIFIC but thorough. May contain the results of a study or experiment. May contain ideas for future research.
Use: Up to date information on the topic. Focus on the conclusions and what the authors learned while doing their study.

"Popular" Articles from Websites and Magazines

Target Audience: Usually everyone: People interested in the topic for any reason.
Content: EXPLANATORY INFORMATION about some aspect of a topic. Watch out for oversimplification and especially slant/bias, depending on the source.
Use: Getting up to speed on a topic. Getting the current "coverage" on a topic. Discovering angles you didn't know about.

What is Background Research?

Research that:

gives you a broad idea about what your research topic is about
provides information about specific terms used in the topic
provides information about key people, places, and dates relevant to your topic

This information can help you effectively search for information on your topic.

There are many different sources for Background Research:

Encyclopedias

General Encyclopedias

These are designed for general readers and contain information on a variety of topics (e.g. Encyclopedia Britannica, World Book)

Subject Encyclopedias

These focus on one field or topic, such as religion, psychology, or African American history (e.g. Encyclopedia of Psychology)

Books on the topic

books can provide a good overview of the topic, and their lists of sources can point you to resources that you can use

Podcasts

There are many good podcasts that can give overviews on a variety of topics (e.g. Stuff You Should Know)

Wikipedia

This online encyclopedia can be a good way of getting on overview of your topic. Very useful for information on popular culture. Looking at the history of the entries is also a good way of seeing the conflicts that are related to the issue

Useful Resources to Find Background Information

CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window

Comprehensive, non-biased reporting and analysis on issues shaping our world.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window

An online reference library that has over 350 titles from 60 different publishers.
Encyclopedia Britannica Academic Edition This link opens in a new window

Included only links to electronic journals in the field of education that are scholarly, peer-reviewed, full text and accessible without cost.