Reference books and online resources like Access Science, Britannica Academic, and Salem Online are great for improving your background knowledge on almost any topic. These resources also provide images and videos, which you can use to liven up your papers and presentations.
Here are some useful guides to help you evaluate information you find on the web:
- Evaluating Information: How to evaluate information, from social media to scholarly articles (Johns Hopkins University)
- Evaluating Print vs. Internet Sources (Purdue University)
- Evaluating Resources (UC Berkeley)
Write Your Paper
The Center for Student Success offers tutoring to all DCTC students, including help with writing your paper and citing your sources. You can schedule an appointment by calling 651-423-8657 or visiting room 2-101.
Cite Your Sources
There are different styles for citing the sources you use in your assignments. Your instructor will let you know whether to use APA, Chicago, MLA, or some other style.
Here are some introductory guides to these styles from the Purdue Online Writing Lab:
- Purdue OWL: APA Formatting and Style Guide
- Purdue OWL: Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition
- Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting and Style Guide
Our catalog and most databases provide citations for the books, videos, and articles you find in them. Just look for a link that says Cite or Citation, then select the appropriate style. It's easy to copy and paste citations into your bibliography!
Avoid Plagiarism
"Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, the use, by paraphrase or direct quotation, of the published or unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgment. It also includes the unacknowledged use of materials prepared by another person or agency engaged in the selling of term papers or other academic materials."
This definition of plagiarism comes from page 1 of DCTC's Student Code of Conduct. See how easy that was?
Citing your sources is an essential step in the research process. This allows others to verify your information and gives credit to previous researchers and writers for their hard work.
During Stay-At-Home Order:
Library staff are available remotely at library@dctc.edu, 651-423-8366, and Zoom (email for appointments) during our regular spring semester hours. The physical library is currently closed.
Fall & Spring Semesters:
Monday - Thursday:
7:30 AM to 5:00 PM
Friday:
7:30 AM to 3:30 PM
Summer Sessions:
Monday - Thursday:
8:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Welcome to the DCTC Library's Medical Ethics subject guide. This guide will help you to
- find online reference resources
- find books, videos, ebooks, and streaming videos
- find magazine, journal, and newspaper articles
- identify trustworthy information on the web
- and cite your sources
We have many books about medical ethics in our collection, including some textbooks on reserve. Books on reserve must be used in the Library, except with permission from your instructor to check them out and take them home.
Our Catalog: OneSearch
Use our catalog, OneSearch, to find the books and videos on our shelves, plus ebooks and streaming videos. Our EBSCO eBook Collection includes more than 214,000 ebooks, many of which have to do with medical ethics. Our Films On Demand collection includes nearly 45,000 streaming videos.
The best way to begin your search is to enter one or two keywords on your topic. To narrow your results, use the Modify My Results options on the left side of the screen. You can also click on a relevant title and click on one of its subject headings to focus your search on that particular topic.
Our collection is organized by Library of Congress call numbers. If you like to browse, many books and videos about medical ethics are shelved in the R723-726 call number range. Ask a librarian if you need help finding anything.
Interlibrary Loan
If we don't have what you're looking for, you can expand your search to include all libraries in the Minnesota State system or even all libraries in Minnesota. You can request books, videos, and articles from other libraries through interlibrary loan (ILL) and we'll e-mail you when the items are ready to pick up here at the DCTC Library. Ask a librarian if you have any questions.
Below you'll find just a few of our many Online Resources for finding magazine, newspaper, and journal articles. The best way to begin your search is to enter one or two keywords on your topic. Each database is different, but there will be ways to limit and focus your results so that you find the most relevant and useful articles available.





Please visit the Library or contact us if you have any questions about our online resources or if you'd like help finding articles on your topic.

Opposing Viewpoints features information and opinions on more than 400 social issues and current events. For each topic, you'll find viewpoint essays; reference information; full-text articles from magazines, academic journals, and newspapers; primary source documents; statistics; images; videos; audio; and trustworthy websites.

Points of View Reference Center features opinions on more than 400 social issues, from 3D gun printing to zoos and circuses. For each topic, you'll find an overview and point and counterpoint opinion essays.
- Bioethics.net
- Bioethics Case Studies (McGraw Hill)
- Bioethics Topics (University of Washington School of Medicine)
- Case Studies (The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity)
- Cases on Medical Ethics (Santa Clara University)
- Code of Ethics for Nurses (American Nurses Association)
- Ethical Dilemmas (Texas Dental Journal)
- Minnesota Law and Legislative Documents (Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes)
Here are just a few of the ebooks you'll find in our collection:
The Picture of Health: Medical Ethics and the Movies
2011
Bioethics : Issues and Dilemmas
2010
Bioethics Beyond the Headlines : Who Lives? Who Dies? Who Decides?
2005
Medical Ethics : A Very Short Introduction
2004
Practical Decision Making in Health Care Ethics : Cases and Concepts, 3rd ed.
2010
Reconceiving Medical Ethics
2012