Library Guides: NURS 200W: Principles of Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice: Searching the Scholarly Literature

Searching for Scholarly Information and EBN Research

While creating your PICO question, you may need to learn more about a specific condition or treatment to understand all aspects of your chosen topic. Reading brief reference articles or scholarly book chapters can provide you with the context and details needed to better comprehend your PICO before searching for journal articles.
Start by using either reference sources or the University Libraries' Catalog to search for scholarly book chapters on your research topic. Both reference sources, such as encyclopedias, and book chapters will cover a topic in a broader scope than research articles to give you a more holistic understanding.
Using databases specific to Nursing and related health sciences, search for evidence-based nursing research articles to continue your research. Make sure to use facets of your PICO question to discover relevant articles.

Resources for Background Information

Catalog (Penn State University Libraries catalog) This link opens in a new window
Search the Catalog for scholarly books. Most catalog records will list the table of contents to help you determine if a chapter fits your research question.
This is the online catalog of materials owned by Penn State Libraries. All formats (books, journals, audiovisuals, maps, recordings, etc.) are included. Circulation status for individual items is also provided. Coverage: Presently contains about 7 million records. Updates: Continuous up-to-the-minute as new records are added.

Encyclopedia of Nursing Research by Joyce J. Fitzpatrick (Editor)
Call Number: ebook, accessible online though linked catalog record
Publication Date: 2017
This award-winning nursing reference, meticulously researched by luminaries in the field, represents the state of the art in nursing science. Comprehensive and concise, entries provide the most relevant and current research perspectives and demonstrate the depth and breadth of nursing research today. This one-stop reference presents key terms and concepts and clarifies their application to practice.
Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health by Jacqueline L. Longe (Editor)
Call Number: ebook, accessible online though linked catalog record
Publication Date: 2018
This seven volume set provides more than 1,230 entries covering topics in body systems and functions, conditions and common diseases, contemporary health care issues and theories, techniques and practices, and devices and equipment. It covers all major health professions, including nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy and more.

Premier Nursing and Health Science Databases

CINAHL (Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health) This link opens in a new window
This premier database of evidence-based nursing research that also includes book chapters, dissertations, patient educational materials, standards of practice, and many other useful resources.
One of two major databases for nursing, providing references to over 1,800 nursing and allied health journal articles in addition to citations for book chapters, nursing dissertations, association publications, educational software, conference proceedings and selected full-text for state nursing journal articles, legal cases, patient education material, research instruments, standards of practice, critical paths, nurse practice acts, drugs, clinical innovations and government publications. References for alternative/complementary medicine, consumer health and health sciences librarianship are also included. Coverage: 1982 - Present. Updates: Monthly.
ProQuest Nursing and Allied Health Journals This link opens in a new window
This database contains hundreds of journals in the fields of nursing and allied health with full-text articles.
A full text database subset of CINAHL, including only 300 full-text journals that are licensed to ProQuest. Coverage is typically from 1996, with a few titles prior to that date.
Cochrane Library This link opens in a new window
The Cochrane Library contains many systematic reviews as well we as the results of controlled trials and other types of nursing research.
Cochrane Library is composed of the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the leading resource for systematic reviews in health care. It includes peer reviewed systematic reviews and protocols prepared according to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions or Cochrane Handbook for Diagnostic Test Accuracy Reviews and editorials and supplements. The resource is updated often, with reviews and protocols being published when ready. Cochrane Library also includes the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and published monthly. The Cochrane Library offers Cochrane Clinical Answers, which provide a clinically-focused entry point to research from Cochrane Reviews. Also included are special collections of evidence-based guides related to diagnosing common medical conditions. The federated search feature allows Cochrane Library users to search systematic reviews from McMaster Health Forum's repositories: Health Systems Evidence and Social Systems Evidence.
CAB Abstracts (agriculture, nutrition and global health) This link opens in a new window
While this database contains scholarly journals in fields related to agriculture and horticulture, it also contains a Global Health section that is relevant to nursing research.
CAB Abstracts via CAB Direct covers all areas of agriculture including animal production and welfare (equine, dairy, cattle, poultry), horticulture, (fruits, nuts, vegetables ornamentals, flowers) crop science (grains, forages) and plant protection, applied economics and rural studies, animal nutrition, entomology, aquaculture and veterinary science, food science and nutrition, forestry and the management and conservation of natural resources, leisure and tourism, microbiology, parasitology, mycology, nematology, bacteriology and virology, biotechnology, and plant pathology and postharvest factors. CAB Direct also includes a Global Health section which covers international and public health, including bacterial, viral and prion diseases, mycology, parasitology, disease vectors, zoonotic diseases, nutrition and food safety, medicinal plants, toxicology and public and rural health.
PubMed (Medline) This link opens in a new window
With PubMed you can search MEDLINE, the National Library of Medicine's premier database. The main focus of PubMed articles is medicine but there are publications pertinent to nursing.
PubMed is a web interface that allows you to search MEDLINE, the National Library of Medicine's premier database of citations and abstracts for biomedical research articles. The core subject is medicine, but subject coverage also includes bioethics, biology, chemistry, dentistry, environmental health, genetics, gerontology, health care planning and administration, history of medicine, hospital administration, microbiology, nutrition, nursing (International Nursing Index), physiology, pre-clinical sciences, public health, sports medicine, veterinary medicine and zoology. MEDLINE covers over 4,800 journals published in the United States and 70 other countries. The database contains over 15 million citations dating back to 1950. Coverage is worldwide and updated weekly. Learn more about PubMed at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/about/. or Try the Tutorial at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/pubmed_tutorial/m1001.html

Other Health Science Related Databases

Health and Safety Science Abstracts This link opens in a new window
This database contains some areas related to and that overlap with nursing research such as occupational safety, public health, and emergency management.
This database provides a comprehensive, timely survey of recent work relating to public health, safety, and industrial hygiene. Coverage: 1981-date. Major subject areas included: Occupational Safety and Health Transportation; Environmental and Ecology; Food and Drugs; Pesticides; Natural Disasters; Civil Defense and Emergency Management; Fire Safety; Radiation Safety and Electrical Safety; Consumer and Recreation Safety; Ergonomics and Human Factors Diseases; Injuries and Trauma; Epidemiology and Public Health; Medical Safety; Toxicology; Civil and Structural Engineering.
PsycINFO (via ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
PsycINFO is the premier database for research in psychology and related disciplines, which includes topics of mental health and wellbeing.
PsycINFO provides access to international literature in psychology and related disciplines. Unrivaled in its depth of psychological coverage and respected worldwide for its high quality, the database is enriched with literature from an array of disciplines related to psychology such as psychiatry, education, business, medicine, nursing, pharmacology, law, linguistics, and social work. Nearly all records contain nonevaluative summaries, and all records from 1967 to the present are indexed using the Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms.
ERIC (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
ERIC is the premier database for scholarly literature in education, containing studies on patient education and counseling that may relate to nursing research topics.
ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) is the major database for education literature, sponsored by the U.S. Department. of Education. The same database content is available on many platforms.