Note:

Below you will find a few suggestions for searching this topic. These suggestions aren't the only way to find materials, but they may help to get you started.

Chicken Pox

I. Find Background Information

For overview and historical background:

  • The Cambridge World History of Human Disease has an entry under the formal name, Varicella Zoster, including a section on History and Geography.
    Don't forget to look through the bibliography at the end of entry. If there are some references you are interested in, we can help you track them down!
  • You might also try the History of Science, Technology and Medicine. If there's an article or book you're interested in, we can help you find it. Just ask!

II. Search the catalog

  • For best results, go to the library catalog and click on the Advanced Search.Type in: chickenpox varicella and use the pull-down menu to select [any]
  • Optional (but recommended): On the left-hand column, under Limit Your Search, scroll down to open Subject and use Next --> to page through the list of relevant subject headings.

Note: For this topic, there seems to be fewer popular or historical materials listed in the catalog (but, remember, there are some very promising-looking journal articles to track down from the Cambridge World History entry that will provide some primary and historical material! See the Cambridge World History of Human Disease entry for Varicella Zoster (the formal name) and ask us for help!).

III. Find Scholarly Journal articles (current)

  • Web of Science
    The number of articles with "chicken pox" or varicella-zoster virus is very large, and many are on specific aspects of the disease and associated diseases. In the Web of Science, one way to narrow this down a bit, is to use the pull-down menu to select TITLE, rather than Topic.
    Example: (chicken pox or varicella) and etiolog*  [Title] or  varicella-zoster and diagnosis [Title]
    Note: the asterisk * at the end of etiolog* finds etiology or etiological
  • Click the "Get it! Cornell" links to find the full-text.

IV. Finding current popular articles (primary source material)

*Popular, in this context means non-scholarly, written for the general public.

  • Proquest Research Library
    Enter your search terms: "chicken pox;"
    Place quotation marks around phrases;
    From the list of results, filter to Magazines; and select a time period;
    Under Publication Titles, select "more" to select specific magazine titles of interest.

V. Finding historical news articles and popular magazine articles

  1. Select the Advanced Search
  2. Type in "chicken pox" (in quotation marks to search as a phrase)
  3. Scroll down to Source Type to select Articles (and, maybe, Advertisements? That could be interesting)
  4. In the left-hand column, adjust the date ranges, if desired. (Can you find articles from the early 1900s?)
  1. Select the Advanced Search
  2. Type in "chicken pox" (in quotation marks to search as a phrase)
  3. Scroll down to Source Type to select Articles
  4. Adjust the date ranges, if desired