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

Selected Resources

A. C. Buehler Library, Elmhurst College

 

 

Types of Information- Definitions

Before you begin your research about a topic, it's important to understand that different types of research require different sorts of searches, and you'll need to know what sort of information you're going to need. There are two main types of information:

  • Consumer (aka popular/mass-media/general)
  • Professional (aka trade/scholarly/academic)

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:   

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

    Fibromyalgia Network (a periodical)

    Electronic Newspapers ~the Chicago Tribune, New York Times, and other newspapers

    WebMD (a website)

Professional Nursing Literature ~ Information written for health care professionals by health care professionals. Some may be "peer-reviewed." Below are some examples of professional nursing literature that we have at the library:

        Professional Reference Texts:

        • Lippincott's Nursing Drug Guide

        • Professional Guide to Diseases

        • Mosby's Medical, Nursing, and Allied Health Dictionary

         

        Professional Nursing Journals/Periodicals:

        • American Journal of Nursing

        • Nurse Researcher

        • Journal of Nursing Education

         

        Professional Nursing Literature Websites:

        • PubMed ~ a free, comphrehensive professional journal database from the National Library of Medicine

        • NursingWorld ~the official website of the American Nurses Association

     

    List of Scholarly Online Journals at the Elmhurst College Library

    (Microsoft Word file, does not include print journals)

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Finding Professional Nursing Literature

Many searches can be performed by using keywords. Here's an example of some effective keywords:

managed care grief
nursing research geriatric patients
collaberation

case management
environment patient relations
nurse administrators leadership

Some searches return too many or too few results. If this happens, you need to refine your search terms:

  • Too many results- add more keywords, or make them more specific: i.e. "nursing ethics" to "nursing ethics" + "theory."

  • Too few results- broaden your keywords (shorten "grief counseling" to "grief") or use a different term ("holistic therapy" instead of "alternative health").

 

Index Databases (some full text)

  • CINAHL w/Full Text~ The Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health database provides coverage of the literature related to nursing and allied health. Includes consumer and professional-level information..Some full text (although there is no way to limit your search to full text only in this database).

Other Nursing Databases

 

How to find full text from an article citation in our databases

If...you don't see an option like "HTML Full Text" or "PDF Full Text" next to the article citation-
Then...look for , or , or "Find this resource with SFX." Clicking on this option will open a new window.



If you see an "Online Full Text" option available, clicking on "Go" will take you to the full text.



If you don't see the "Online Full Text" option, then you can see if  we own the journal in print by clicking on the "We may own this option" ororder the article by clicking on the "Request this item through Interlibrary Loan" link.

 

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Using the Library Catalog (I-Share)

The I-Share Online Catalog is the library's book catalog.One of the quickest ways to search is by keywords . Enter a term (such as medical ethics) in the search box. Use quotation marks around your keywords to restrict your search to a specific phrase. You'll get a list of books that include those keyword somewhere in the title or description.

  • If you can't find what you're looking for at our library, click on "I-Share Catalog " at the top of the page, to use our shared catalog, which searches 70 Illinois libraries. Once you find a book, you can order it from these other libraries by clicking on the "Renew Books/My Account" link at the top of the page and entering your ID# (your Jaypass barcode number).

  • If you find books that you need to order, do so as soon as possible! They take a while to come in (7-10 days).

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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.

Helpful Websites and Tools

 

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~Last modified on 2/10/2008 by J. Hill