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

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, 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

         

        Professional Nursing Journals/Periodicals:

        • American Journal of Nursing

        • Nurse Researcher

        • Journal of Nursing Education

         

        Professional Nursing 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 ("grief counseling" to "grief") or use a different term ("holistic therapy" to "alternative health").

 

Index Databases (some full text)

  • CINAHL~ 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).

So you found an article in one of our databases, but it's not full-text. Now what?

Don't fret. Look for these buttons: , or , or this line of text: (Find this resource with SFX) next to the article citation on the search screen. Clicking on this will take you to a list of our full-text sources that carry the journal, if we have it.

Other Nursing Databases

 

Can't find anything on your topic/author? Try searching all our databases at once with this link:

Type your keywords in the search box(es), check "All Resources" and click "Go.

 

 

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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 to browse by subject. Enter a subject term (such as Nursing) 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.

If you can't find books writtten specifically about your subject, then try entering in keywords and do an "Any Word Anywhere" search. Use quotation marks to restrict your search to a specific phrase.

  • 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 see if you can find items at 65 other Illinois libraries. You can order books from other libraries through the online catalog 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

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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This page was created on 6/18/2003 by Anne-Jordan Baker

~last modified on 6/13/2006 by J. Hill