Nursing 620—Library Instruction
Advance Nursing Research & Theory
Objectives:
Be able to find peer-reviewed (scholarly) journal articles reporting on original (evidence based) research.
Be able to request books and articles using Interlibrary Services as a distant student.
Identify a research question and draft a thesis statement (Search strategy)
Key Terms:
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Peer-Reviewed or Scholarly Journal Articles (“Finding Scholarly Articles”)
Original Research or Empirical Research or Evidence Based Practice-best available evidence
coupled with clinical expertise
Full-Text
Outline:
1. Meriam Library Research Station
2. Interlibrary Services: IMPORTANT: When you register online with the Interlibrary Services
system, be sure that you indicate your status as a Distant Graduate student
3. Nursing Research Guide (click each tab for complete information)
4. Search Strategy Development & Application
a. Before you can search for any information, you should first develop a search strategy.
b. Identify the key concepts.
i. Determine alternative terms for these concepts, if needed.
ii. Brainstorm synonyms for your concept or topic. Searching for alternative
words improves your chances of success. (example: education, faculty,
teaching or leadership, management)
c. Identify appropriate database
d. Refine your search to dates, etc., as appropriate.
e. Modify your searches based on your results. If you find articles that reflect your
interests, redo your search using words that appear in the title, subject headings,
abstract, or full text of that article.
f. Practice helps. Strategies and styles will differ according to personal choice and
professional discipline.
5. CINAHL-- Unfiltered =primary literature, new research
a. Sign in to save articles
b. Searching: Keyword, Subject Headings, Limits
i.
Limit with date, Publication Type, such as Clinical Trial, Meta-Analysis, Systematic
Review or Research; or use the Clinical Queries limit; or the Evidence-Based
Practice limit.
ii.
When articles are indexed for this database they are assigned multiple subject
headings - some major and some minor. The indexers use a set list of terms for
these subject headings from the National Library of Medicine (US) to ensure that
the articles are described consistently (MeSH).
c. Use of Folders, Printing, Emailing, Create Notes, EndNote Web
i.
Saving searches to a folder will allow you to store search strategies created during
your current search session to return later, without having to retype your search
terms.
d. Citations
e. Alerts: Login>Search>Alert/Save/Share>Email Alert>complete form>save
i.
Saving alerts will enable you to receive an email notification if new articles based on
your search criteria are added to the database. Alerts can be generated on a
regular basis e.g. weekly or monthly.
f. Permalink
ii.
Copy and paste a persistent link to the article.
6. PubMed
a. Register My NCBI
b. MeSH Searching: AND/OR, Limits
c. Clipboard (Saves citations temporarily 8 hours) vs My NCBI, Printing, Emailing
d. Alerts: Login>Search>Save Search>name Search>Complete form>save
e. Save Link
7. Cochrane Library --The gold standard for Evidence based practice = filtered resource—lit.
Search/reviews and evaluate to provide an answer to a clinical question
a. A database comprised of a collection of six databases containing reviews, articles and
citations to research in healthcare and related public policy. It is a leading source for
peer reviewed systematic reviews in all areas of healthcare. It also publishes information
on medical trials, from MEDLINE and CINHAL and others. Cochrane Reviews includes
complete reviews and protocols (reviews that are still in progress) Quotation marks are
not needed; this database automatically searches multiple terms as a phrase.
b. Some of the databases within Cochrane Library contain information on more than just
healthcare. Included is material on health technology assessments from around the world
including medical, social, ethical and economic implications of healthcare interventions.
Also publications reporting on the methods used in conducting controlled trials including
journals, books and conference proceedings.
c. Saved search alerts, Journal Club
8. Find Books
a. WorldCat (Largest catalog of book titles)
b. Meriam Library Catalog (Nursing theses and more)
Searching
When looking for books or articles try to narrow down your subject. For Example:
 Search the terms nursing AND leadership
 The results returned will have the keywords nursing and leadership somewhere in the record.
 Look for the hyperlinked subject terms to lead you to more items with this same subject; for
example nursing leaders or nursing managers are subject terms. (controlled vocabulary supplied
by database)
 The result should be more items on your topic, with less searching.
Additionally, combine terms with AND, OR, NOT, NEAR example:
 nursing AND leadership --> Narrow Results (Reduces the number of search results by requiring
more than one term to appear in the same article)
 leaders OR managers--> Broad Results (Expands the number of search results by expanding the
possible matches to include either one or the other term)
 nursing NOT associate degree --> Narrow Results (Reduces search results to omit references to
articles with certain words that have nothing to do with your topic)
 nursing NEAR leadership--> Narrow Results (Reduces the search results by requiring two words
to appear near one another in the articles)
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Putting it all together...
Put it all together to make a sophisticated search:
(leading OR managers) AND (nursing NEAR management)
Phrase Searching
When multiple words are placed in a single search box, a database search engine will do one of two
things. By default, the search engine will either:
1. Search for those words as a phrase. Meaning it will search for them side-by-side, next to each
other and in that exact order ONLY
Or
2. Automatically place an implied Boolean 'AND' between the words and search for each
word separately. It will retrieve only articles that contain both words, including those that are
next to each other ... but in addition it will also retrieve articles where the words are found
separately in different places within the article.
It is important you understand the default of the database you are using. By default, our library
databases will search for multiple words as a phrase. On the other hand, Google and most online search
engines will insert the implied 'AND' between each word.
If you are unsure of the default of the database you are searching, use double quotation marks for
"phrase searching" and place a Boolean 'AND' between words if you wish to search for them
separately, “nurse managers” AND leadership.
Tip: Remember, Boolean search logic is algebraic in nature. Search proceeds in exact order, unless
terms are nested. When using a simple one-box search, use parentheses to nest. When using advanced
search (multiple boxes), items within each box are automatically nested.
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