Stumper! Mental Health Stats

The latest stumper question is from Libby Gorman, NCknows volunteer:

"I had a chat today asking for "north carolina statistics on people receiving mental health services."

Below are some responses from to the question via the NCknows listserv:

 I went to NC LIVE's "Everything NC!" and clicked on NC Health Info. There, under "Reference & Tools" you'll find a list of recommended sites. There are LOTS of possibilities, but the last one may be the best for this problem. If you click on "Substance Abuse and Mental Health" you see a page listing states. I clicked on the most recent report for NC on Mental Health - which was 2006. It gives estimated numbers & percentages for "Serious Psychological Distress" and "Having at Least One Major Depressive Episode." It also shows maps plotting percentages by states.

 There's an article by the National Alliance on Mental Illness http://naminc.org/nn/misc/NCstats.pdf  that summarizes a fair number of statistics about people in NC with mental illnesses, and about the state of mental health services. For deeper research it lists all of the sources for the statistics, many of which seem to be available online.

I may also suggest that you can check the website of the Local Management Entity or Managed Care Organization- for quarterly and annual reports which will give specifics of a region compared to the state numbers. http://www.ncdhhs.gov/mhddsas/lmemap2-13.pdf

You can also use national sites to learn more about a specific state, I suggest using some listed on our Teen’s ‘Help Me’ page, http://www.daviecountync.gov/index.aspx?nid=453- particularly NAMI.

Helpful links from the NC Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services:

http://www.ncdhhs.gov/mhddsas/statspublications/index.htm
http://publichealth.nc.gov/lhd/cha/reports.asp
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/mhddsas/statspublications/Reports/annualreport07.pdf

Thank you Kathy Winslow, Gwen Exner, and Julie Whittaker for providing very helpful responses to this stumper question!

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Searching for Cited References in EBSCO

So you've found the perfect reference in an EBSCO database. Now what? Finding out where an author or article has been cited can be a great way to find more, and possibly even better, references.

To start, click Cited References at the top of EBSCO's search screen.

Here, you can search by author, title, source, date, or by all citation fields.

Choose a field and enter your search terms. We'll search by title.

After finding the right citation, check the box next to it and click "Find Citing Articles."

This will bring you to a list of articles that have cited the original reference.

That's all there is to it! Feel free to let us know what other tips for finding references you might have by leaving a comment.

Using EBSCO Databases to Find Statistical Information

There are several databases in NC LIVE dedicated to statistical information under the Data and Demographics section. Did you know that you can find statistical information using keywords and limits in other EBSCO-supported databases including Academic Search Complete?

Find Statistical Information Using Keywords and Limits

If you are trying to include statistics in your results, you can target those by using the following keywords:

• Findings
• Results
• Study
• Analysis

Here's an example statistics keyword search in an EBSCO database using the Advanced Search option::

To pull up statistical findings using limits, make sure you select either "chart" or "graph" in the limits section on the Basic Search option:

Have you found other tips or tricks for finding statistical information?  If so, let us know!

NC ECHO Makes Searching Local History Easier

Great news for North Carolina local history researchers: no longer will they have to search across multiple websites and platforms for access to the state's digital historical resources. According to their press release, a joint program between the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center, NC Live, and the State Library of North Carolina, unites a variety of online collections under a single search box.

The project, called NC ECHO, allows users to search "across thousands of digitized and “born-digital” historic materials, including a wide variety of books, photographs, maps, family histories, state documents, newspapers and other materials from cultural heritage institutions around North Carolina."

Previously, researchers were required to search these collections individually. Institutions whose resources are searched by NC ECHO include:

• East Carolina University
• Johnson C. Smith University
• New Hanover County Public Library
• North Carolina Digital Collections, Department of Cultural Resources
• North Carolina Digital Heritage Center
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
• Western Carolina University

Searching NC ECHO

NC ECHO allows users to search by keyword

or by county

Results are displayed in an easy to navigate list. Researchers may limit results by collection or contributor using the left-hand sidebar

.

NC ECHO, which is free and open to everyone, can be accessed at: http://ncecho.org/

Try it out, and tell us what you think!

How to find Lexile Reading Levels

Ever worry whether you are providing the best age-appropriate article and book recommendations to your patrons?  Do you ever wish you could limit your results by reading levels?  Well, you can! NC LIVE offers several databases that include Lexile controls.

Lexile Reading Levels help readers find books and articles that are compatible with their reading abilities.  The higher the number, the more advanced the material's reading level will be.

For a detailed overview of Lexile measurements visit Lexile's website at http://www.lexile.com/

The NC LIVE databases that include Lexile controls are:

• MAS Complete
• Middle Search Plus
• NoveList Plus
• Primary Search

Thank you to Mark Schumacher at UNCG for finding these databases!

Lexile Reading Level

In MAS Complete, Middle Search Plus, and Primary Search, you can find the Lexile Reading Level limit in both Basic and Advanced Search.  Here, you can select a range of numbers that correlate with your patron's reading level.

In NoveList Plus, the Lexile Reading Level limit is under the Advanced Search option only.

Lexile Reading Level

Lexile Reading Score

If you are looking for a book or article to match with a specific Lexile Reading Score, you can enter it in the limit labeled Lexile Reading Score in MAS Complete, Middle Search Plus, and Primary Search.

Lexile Reading Score

Got more thoughts, ideas or tips on Lexile searching?  Feel free to leave us a comment!