Types
of Information- Definitions
Research articles:
Usually published in peer-reviewed journals. Although a research article
will include a bibliography of other literature reviewed, and may lead
you to similar articles, its primary purpose is to present original
findings. Look for the following elements
- Introduction
- Research design
- Discussion of data & methods
- Results
In CINAHL, limit to subset "peer-reviewed"
& document type "research"
In PsycINFO, limit to publication type "peer-reviewed
journal." There are a number of different types of research selections
in this database- some applicable selections under form/content type
are "quantitative study" and "clinical trial."
Review articles:
Summarizes and synthesizes the results of many different original studies.
Its purpose is to define the state of the literature on a particular
topic, and discuss different methodologies for conducting research.
Review articles are excellent sources for locating research articles,
and contain helpful bibliographies.
In CINAHL, limit to document types: "review"
or "systematic review"
In PsycINFO, limit to form/content types: "literature
review"
In MEDLINE, limit to Article type phrase "review"
Clinical articles:
Written for practitioners. Clinical articles might present a particular
case study or define a new technique.
In CINAHL, limit to document type "case
study"
In PsycINFO, limit form/content type to "Clinical
case report"
(source: Clemens, Rachel, "Library
Research Guide for Nursing," Dept. of Nursing, Cal State University
, http://guides.library.fullerton.edu/nursing/articletypes.htm)
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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 (although there is no way to limit your search to full text only
in this database).
To access CINAHL from off campus, go to Articles
and Databases and find CINAHL on the alphabetical list. Select
the off-campus link.
PsycINFO
~Covers professional and academic literature in psychology and related
disciplines including medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education,
pharmacology, physiology, linguistics, and other areas. Linked full
text is available.
To access PsycINFO from off campus, go to Articles
and Databases and choose EBSCO under "Database Interfaces."
You will need to enter your Bluenet ID and password when prompted.
Medline
~International index to all areas of medicine.
To access Medline from off campus, go to Articles
and Databases and choose FirstSearch under "Database
Interfaces." You will need to enter your Bluenet ID and password
when prompted.
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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
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