Librarian
Using Databases
What should I type in?
- Search for keywords.
- Search for keywords, jargon, and specialized terminology. Think of your PICO question. What concepts must be mentioned in the articles you find?
- Population
- Problem
- Intervention
- Outcome
- Context
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Databases will show you articles that mention all of the words you type into the search boxes.
- Search for keywords, jargon, and specialized terminology. Think of your PICO question. What concepts must be mentioned in the articles you find?
- Plan to search for synonyms too.
- Initial keywords may not work as planned. Plan to search for synonyms (other words and phrases) that refer to the same or a very similar concept.
- Look for "subject headings" and search for them.
- Pay attention to "subjects" or "subject headings" or "medical subject headings" listed near relevant articles. This is one way to identify language that experts use to describe your topic.
- Tip: Quotation Marks
- Place quotation marks around a phrase (anything more than one word). Doing this will search for the phrase exactly how you type it in. Quotation marks are not beneficial or necessary for just one word.
- Example: "quality of life"
- Place quotation marks around a phrase (anything more than one word). Doing this will search for the phrase exactly how you type it in. Quotation marks are not beneficial or necessary for just one word.
- Tip: Asterisks
- Add an asterisk * after the base of a word. This will tell the database to search for variations of that word.
- Example: nurs*
- Results will include articles that mention any of the following words: nurse, nurses, and/or nursing.
- Add an asterisk * after the base of a word. This will tell the database to search for variations of that word.
Avoid irrelevant results.
- Search for keywords in abstracts.
- Because abstracts are summaries of articles, if your search terms are mentioned in the abstracts, chances are those articles will be very relevant to your topic.
- Searching for keywords in article titles may be too limiting. Searching for keywords in the full text may show irrelevant results.
- See the example below.
- Sort the list of results by relevance.
- Sometimes the default setting will list results by publication date.
- Combine and exclude search terms.
- You can type the following commands between your search terms to make the database work for you.
- AND
- OR
- NOT
- See the following example.
- You can type the following commands between your search terms to make the database work for you.
Find more.
- Look in the "References" section.
- The "References" section of an article will list very relevant sources on your topic. Search for the titles of these articles in LionSearch or Google Scholar.
- Lionsearch is the single searchbox located on the library's main page.
- Google Scholar can be accessed at scholar.google.com.
- Click on the "Cited By" links.
- Many databases and Google Scholar have "Cited By" links. This link shows articles that reference the original article.
- CINAHL (Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health) This link opens in a new windowPrimary database for nursing, listing references from 3,100 journals (= more than 3.8 million records) and includes many other kinds of sources like book chapters and conference proceedings. Includes full-text articles from 70 journals. Updates monthly. When searching, it allows you to limit results by gender, age group, "special interest," and more.
- ProQuest Nursing and Allied Health Journals This link opens in a new windowNursing and Allied Health resources. 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.
- PsycINFO (via ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowThe best database for psychology journal articles. Unlike some library databases, it enables you to search for studies by research methodology, participcants' age and gender, and other helpful categories.
Other Databases
- Anatomy.TV This link opens in a new windowLimited to 50 concurrent users. Provides 3D human anatomy and multimedia interactive content allowing the user to rotate any anatomical view 360 degrees, add/remove layers of anatomy and label any visible structure.
- Natural Medicines This link opens in a new windowMost comprehensive listing of brand name product ingredients available giving a summary of safety, effectiveness, drug interactions, and adverse effects. Other clinical tools include a drug interaction checker and an effectiveness checker. Over 1,100 profiles of natural ingredients are included as well as Canadian licensed natural health products and herbal fixed combination products.
- Nursing Education in Video Back File This link opens in a new windowAn online collection of videos created specifically for the education and training of nurses and other healthcare workers. Covers many topics including basic clinical skills, infection control, gerontology, pediatrics, and many more. All of the videos in the collection have been created with the guidance of the Medcom-Trainex advisory board, and are regularly reviewed for accuracy, currency, and compliance with US Federal regulations from agencies such as OSHA and CMS.
- Nursing Reference Center Plus This link opens in a new windowEvidence-based care sheets, guidelines, and more.
- SAGE Research Methods Core This link opens in a new windowExplore methods concepts to help design research projects, understand particular methods or identify a new method, conduct research, and write up findings.