NR+440+Nursing+Research

PICO(T) Question & Research Strategy
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 * Developing answerable questions (interactive tutorial)
 * Introduction to Literature Reviews (video)
 * What is a Database? (interactive tutorial)
 * How to identify and read a research study article
 * Common PICO(T) question problems
 * ** Important reminders **
 * PICO questions must be answerable in the literature!
 * Adjust your question if necessary to reflect the available evidence
 * Outcomes MUST be measurable!
 * Incorporate **broader terms** and/or **related keywords** in your search strategy
 * Search concepts **ONE AT A TIME** - here is how to combine search terms using AND/OR
 * combine synonyms with OR (anxiety OR fear OR worry)
 * use **Search History** to combine searches with AND to refine your results
 * to save your search history, click "Print search history," then copy and paste the search history into a Word document
 * Apply database limiters AFTER testing your keywords
 * Read many abstracts (not just the titles!) of articles to find possibilities
 * NEVER PAY FOR AN ARTICLE! If you have a citation, search for the full text by journal title using Journal Finder. If you still can't locate the article, try Article Request. We will get the text to you asap (2-7 days depending on availability).

Recommended nursing databases

 * ** CINAHL - Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature**
 * Apply these limit options for best results ("Show More" - left-hand navigation bar):
 * Published Dates (2008-2013)
 * Research Article
 * English Language
 * Other limiters to try (success with these limiters is inconsistent - try searching with and without):
 * Core Nursing Journals (use this for best access to full text)
 * Any author is a nurse
 * click ** Find It! ** to locate full text if no immediate link is available
 * **DO NOT USE** "Evidence Based Practice" limit option - it limits your results to a very small group of EBP journals
 * **Medline** - comprehensive index to medical literature from the National Library of Medicine
 * Apply these limit options for best results:
 * Date of Publication 2008-2013
 * English Language
 * Journal & Citation Subset: Nursing
 * **MeSH** = Medical Subject Headings
 * Very comprehensive controlled vocabulary - try using MeSH terms as keywords in other databases,too
 * ** PubMed ** - Publicly available index; use Ursuline library's link to more easily connect to full text
 * Use these filter options for best results:
 * Published in the last 5 years (use pull-down menu to select)
 * Language: English
 * Journal Categories - Nursing Journals (click "Show additional categories" if this filter is not visible)
 * ** PsychInfo - Indexes articles, books, dissertations, and reports in psychology **
 * Apply these limit options for best results:
 * Peer reviewed journal
 * English language
 * Publication dates
 * Tip: try adding keyword //nurs*// to your search terms

Systematic Reviews

 * ** Cochrane - Cochrane is a database of systematic reviews of medical evidence **
 * search by keyword or browse by topic
 * Here's how to cite a Cochrane Review in APA
 * Warning: Cochrane is different! It is **not** a comprehensive index of the literature; it indexes only Cochrane Reviews and the literature that is accumulated during the Cochrane Review process. Learn more about the Cochrane Library here.
 * ** Other Evidence-Based Nursing Research Resources Online: **
 * Joanna Briggs Institute Library of Systematic Reviews (browse review titles; //no full text access from this page//)
 * **Click here to browse JBI Systematic Reviews in full text through Ursuline's subscription to Proquest Nursing & Allied Health**. There is a 6-12 month delay before JBI reviews are available in Proquest.
 * AHRQ Evidence Reports - Nursing Research
 * National Guideline Clearinghouse

APA Style & Citations

 * Use citation helpers available in some databases ("Cite" in CINAHL's full record display)
 * Always double-check your citations to make sure the format and content is correct!
 * Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th ed. (book) This is THE authoritative APA style manual. It is not available online.
 * APA style guide to electronic references (ebook) Authoritative online resource adapted from the APA style manual, 6th ed.
 * How do I format the running header in Microsoft Word?
 * Sample APA paper (from OWL at Purdue)


 * Please contact us! **
 * We're here to help you find the information you need! **