Introduction to the Conceptual Basis of Nursing Practice (NRS 210)

A. C. Buehler Library, Elmhurst College

 

 


 

Types of Information- Definitions

Before you begin your research about a topic, it's important to understand that there are several levels of information that are available to you. Different types of research require different sorts of searches, and you'll need to know what level of information will serve you best. To help you with this process, we have included the following definitions.

Consumer Health Information ~ Books, web sites, and other materials such as "magazines and newsletters written for the public or general consumers of health information." (From Magazines for Libraries by Bill Katz and Linda Sternberg Katz. 9th ed. New Providence, New Jersey: R.R. Bowker, 1997. p. 915.)

        Examples:   

      • Consumer Health USA, Reference R616 C758

      • PDR Family Guide to Prescription Drugs, Reference R615.1 P111

      • Fibromyalgia Network (a periodical)

      • AIDS Treatment News (a periodical)

      • Electronic Newspapers ~the Chicago Tribune, New York Times, and other newspapers.
         
Some Examples of Popular Consumer Health Information Websites

Professional Nursing Literature ~ Information written for health care professionals by health care professionals. Below are some examples of professional nursing literature that we have at Elmhurst College in the library.

        Reference Texts:

        • Lippincott's Nursing Drug Guide, Reference R 615 L765nd

        • Professional Guide to Diseases, Reference R 616 P964 1998

        • Mosby's Medical, Nursing, and Allied Health Dictionary, Reference R 610.3 M894 1998

         

        Nursing Journals/Periodicals:

        • American Journal of Nursing

        • Journal of Nursing Care Quality

        • Nurse Researcher

        • Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing

        • Journal of Nursing Education

What does "peer-reviewed" mean? ~ One kind of professional literature. "A journal for which manuscripts submitted by potential contributors are evaluated by at least one subject specialist in addition to the editor prior to acceptance for publication. Synonymous with refereed." (From Hypertext Library Lingo: A Dictionary of Library and Information Science (http://www.wcsu.edu/library/odlis.html), 10/21/99.)

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Finding Professional/Scholarly Nursing Literature

CINAHL~ The Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health database provides coverage of the literature related to nursing and allied health. Virtually all English-language publications are indexed along with the publications of the American Nurses Association and the National League for Nursing. Selected journals are also indexed in the areas of consumer health and biomedicine.Some full text.

ProQuest Nursing Journals~ More than 250 leading full-text journals in nursing and allied health.

Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition~ Selected full text includes nearly 480 scholarly full text journals, focusing on many medical disciplines.

Many searches can be performed by using keywords. Enter a word or phrase into the search box and see what results you come up with. Here are some examples of keyword searches:

managed care

family

nursing research

collaberation

case management

crisis

patient teaching

alternative health

grief

Some of these terms will give you too many or too few results- just remember that there is no "magic search." You may have to seach several different databases or try some other related terms or word combinations to find what you're looking for. Don't just take the first thing you find- a good, thorough search can take a little time.

Still not sure if your article is considered professional nursing literature? Check this web resource for more information:

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Using the Library Catalog (Illinet)

    Illinet Online

    Illinet Online is the library's catalog.You can do a "Quick Search" and browse a subject, such as Nursing. Enter a subject in the search box, and in the "Search by" box, choose "Browse subject." You'll get a long alphabetical list of nursing subjects, and you can use the arrow key to toggle back and forth between pages in the list.

    The "Guided Keyword" screen is another way to use the catalog. Here, you can use keywords or phrases to do a more specific kind of search. The question mark symbol (?) will allow you to search more efficiently. Instead of doing separate searches with different terms like nursing theory or nursing theorists or nurse theory, etc., you can search for all of phrases at once with a search like this:

    nurs? theor?

    This would give you all results such nursing theory, nurse theorists, nursing theorists and nurse theory. A great way to search for several things at once!

If you find something in another library but we don't have it at our library, check out our Interlibrary Loan department.

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Finding a Specific Journal at the Library

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Resources for Citing in the APA Format

  • Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, call number R808.06615 P976 2001
    ~ The official manual on the APA format. Ask for this item at the reference desk. We also have a limited number of copies for checkout.

Miscellaneous Helpful Websites and Tools

This page was created on 6/18/2003

-last modified on 2/11/2004 by J. Hill