You're already familiar with conventional resources such as books, journals and websites. For ethnobotany, think broader. Who might be a stakeholder in the information you're looking for? Think about organizations, museums, local clubs, leaders, botanical gardens, historical societies and other keepers of the knowledge. Cast a wide net and dig deep; don't be afraid to email or call someone who might have a lead on what you're looking for.
►Google/Google Scholar hint: databases usually have preferred terms or subject headings (tags) to resolve the problem of synonyms but search engines don't. Given that, try different ones to see which retrieve the best results. Be sure to enclose phrases in quotation marks to keep them together. Here are some terms to try:
"ethnobotanical traditions ; "folk medicine" ; "historical uses" ; traditional use" ; symbolism ; flora.
Need additional tips: See the Herbal Sciences Guide.
►Databases Hint: Because ethnobotany is a multidisciplinary field, you'll want to search several databases even though they'll have content on a multitude of subjects. Here are our top picks:
Plants have been used medicinally in all cultures, for millennia in some cases, but an evidence base of well-conducted research studies lag far behind traditional wisdom for most of them. The studies that do exist can be hard to find, for various reasons, but here are some tips and techniques that will greatly improve your botanical search results!
*BU login information is on the library SharePoint under “Bastyr Library Department Intranet Content”: https://bastyr.sharepoint.com/SitePages/Library.aspx
Science-based information that promotes the safe and effective use of medicinal plants and phytomedicines. ABC publishes the Expanded German Commission E monographs, HerbalGram (journal) and HerbClip (reviews/summaries of seminal research).
Hosted by the American Botanical Council. Provides links to research on medicinal plants regarding efficacy, methods of preparation, mechanism of action and cautions. Funded by the Alternative Medicine Foundation, Inc.
*BU login information is on the library SharePoint under “Bastyr Library Department Intranet Content”: https://bastyr.sharepoint.com/SitePages/Library.aspx
Watch this video to learn more about using connecting terms in your database searches:
(Source: Carnegie-Vincent Library at Lincoln Memorial University, 2012)
Check out the website below for a more advanced look at how to harness Boolean operators to get good results:
the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) is a database useful for finding information pertaining to botany, cultivation, biological activity and use of plants. Specifically, content covers herbs, spices, essential oil and medicinal plants. It's a powerful database so review the tips below to get the best results. Access it from the library databases homepage or the list of databases linked on this page.
1. Unless you're very familiar with the terminology, use the Thesaurus to find subject headings (descriptors in this database); Under Menu in the upper left corner, click Search and Discover, then CABI Thesaurus, then Visit CABI Thesaurus.
2. Enter a term and click on ones of interest to view the record. If you want to search on the term, click the orange, ADD button.
3. If you enter a second term, the default connector will be OR. Change it to AND if you need both terms to be included in all your hits.
4. Phrases must be enclosed in quotation marks.
5. Open hits of interest and peruse the record for additional terms. The descriptors (subject headings) will be at the bottom.
6. Revise your search as appropriate.
*Limiting to CABI Full Text will retrieve a limited number of hits; you'll get better results by searching RAMP. If the article you need isn't in full text, click on the Request an Article tab at the top of the Databases page
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