ETHX on the Web (bioethics and professional ethics index) is a database developed by the National Reference Center for Bioethics Literature (NRCBL) at Georgetown University's Kennedy Institute of Ethics. The Institute is the largest university‐based group devoted to research and teaching in biomedical ethics and other areas of applied ethics, and it houses the oldest and largest collection of ethics resources in the world. The non‐profit, non‐partisan library serves as an in‐depth research resource for scholars as well as a reference library for the public. The library has become virtual by developing the ETHX on the Web database, which delivers bibliographic information from a wide variety of resources and formats.
Navigation through the web site is fairly straightforward once the researcher realizes the database consists of three separate searchable databases. The main home screen is well organized and the screen layout showcases the three databases that the library offers. NRCBL's ETHX on the Web database contains references to almost 145,000 journal articles, analytics, audio‐visual materials, bills, laws, court decisions, reports, and news articles. The references usually contain just citations, only occasionally is an abstract included. The search screen is well designed and offers enough versatility to perform a powerful search without being cluttered by too many features, as is often the case with search engine interfaces. Searches can be basic, advanced, or Boolean, and can be further refined by choosing author, title, journal title, or subject. A very useful feature for the researcher is the ability to browse two different subject lists. A general subject list is available and a NRCBL classification scheme. NRCBL developed a classification scheme where classification numbers can be searched in various combinations. The search engine is fast and the citations often provide a link to the full‐text provider, usually the publisher's web site. Searches can be limited by language, publication date, publication type, and also by broad category (such as Death and Euthanasia or Professional Patient Relationship). Limiting a search by General Approach highlights works written, for example, from a philosophical, religious, or popular viewpoint. Another useful feature is Search Only Content Available Online.
The second database, Genetics and Ethics, is supported by a grant form the National Information Resource on Ethics and Human Genetics. The searchable topics include eugenics, genetic testing and screening, gene transfer, gene patenting, and genome mapping. The search engine is the same as the ETHX on the Web and offers the same search features. However, only a general subject list is available for browsing and not the NRCBL classification scheme. Again, many of the citations link to full‐text documents. But the link is often to a subscription journal such as Science or Nature that would not be available for free. However, ETHX on the Web tries to remedy this by providing a link that directs users to very specific ways to obtain a document.
Bioethics in NML Databases is the third database found on the ETHX on the Web home page and was developed in collaboration with the National Library of Medicine (NLM). The researcher has the option to search PubMed only, or Locatorplus only or to use the NLM Gateway search engine that allows researchers to search in multiple systems: Medline/PubMed, TOXLINE Special, LOCATORplus, ClinicalTrials.gov, Meeting Abstracts, and a few others. References include citations and frequently the abstracts.
NRCBL provides other resources and services besides the three bibliographic databases: there is a link to four sets of special collections; educational/teaching resources such as the Syllabi Exchange project, a listing of bibliographies and links to other bioethics organizations.
ETHX on the Web database benefits from being supported by the highly regarded Kennedy Institute of Ethics. The ease of use of the search engine, the variety of content indexed (from journal articles to audiovisuals), and the search engine features (NBCRL classification scheme) also help make this a first rate ethics database. The only caveat is that searchers who are expecting a full‐text database will be disappointed. As any librarian knows, a free web database is not going to be able to offer full‐text documents that would be available from a subscription database. However, overall, ETHX on the Web is a highly recommended Internet resource for all libraries.
