Break into pairs or groups of 3 and look at this recent story from NPR, "Meditation Reduced The Opioid Dose She Needs To Ease Chronic Pain By 75%". Then answer the following questions:

1.) What's the title of the original study that inspired the NPR story?

2.) What journal did it appear in?

3.) What can you tell about the journal?

4.) List the authors.

5.) How many sources do they cite?

6.) How many news outlets have covered this study?

Record your responses here.

Each group will look at one of the questions below.

1. What are the best sources for evidence of the safety of vaccines for children?
2. What are the best examples of anti-vaccination organization websites, blogs, and publications?
3. What are the best sources of practical advice for doctors and other professionals on how to communicate with parents about children's vaccinations?
4. What are the best academic sources on the causes of and solutions for what public health policymakers describe as "vaccine hesitancy"?
5. What are the best sources for information and data on recent US vaccination rates and recent US outbreaks of measles, pertussis, and other infectious diseases preventable by childhood vaccinations?

Record your responses here.

When mainstream news organizations or popular publications report on scientific research, there are a number of ways you could find more information about the science:

• Web of Science (http://libraries.mit.edu/get/webofsci): use this tool or another article database to track down the original citation (if the article mentions the title of the research article). Alternatively, you could do an author search to see what they've written.

• BartonPlus (http://libraries.mit.edu/bartonplus): use this tool or Web of Science (http://libraries.mit.edu/get/webofsci) to find other articles written about their work.

• Scopus (http://libraries.mit.edu/get/scopus): use this tool or Web of Science (http://libraries.mit.edu/get/webofsci) to find out who has cited their work.

• Vera (http://libraries.mit.edu/vera): use this to look up the title of the journals themselves.

• What else?

Any of the these tools listed below can help you organize and cite your references. The Overview at the top of the list explains the strengths and weaknesses for each.

• Overview of Citation Software
• EndNote
• Zotero
• Mendeley

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