Using True Crime Stories to Demonstrate Medical Library Research

Abstract

The author wrote a series for the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library’s blog that explored the connections between true crime and medicine. Each of the ten entries in the “Disorder in the Court” series tells a true story of a crime or court case that involved a medical diagnosis. The entry then delves into the etiology and pathophysiology of the particular syndrome, using information from research articles and point-of-care databases available through the library. This blog series shows the potential of storytelling in demonstrating how to conduct library research.

Keywords

• true crime
• medical research
• blog posts
• storytelling
• outreach