Nursing: Finding Articles for Your Assignments
Finding Nursing Articles
Here are some suggestions to help you put together a smart, detailed search. These strategies will work for library databases or online tools like PubMed.
There are two steps to finding high quality nursing articles:
- Identifying specific search terms
- Using Advanced Search and/or filters
First, think about your search terms. Typically you will be asked to research a treatment or intervention for a specific condition or problem. For example, you may be looking for research on hospital acquired infections and ways to prevent those infections. You can try searching for hospital acquired infections, but this will bring back an overwhelming number of results. Instead focus on a specific intervention (hand washing) for your problem (hospital acquired infections).
If possible, try to put together a search that includes both of the following
- A patient/population or a problem AND
- The treatment or intervention for that patient/population or problem
This strategy will help you narrow down your search results.
The other sections on this page show you how to use search tools to narrow down your results.
The library provides access to several research databases that you can use to find articles for your assignments. If you have questions about using the library databases, please ask! Use one of the options in the Ask the Library box on this page.
Click here to access the library databases
Here are some basic tips for finding articles in the library databases:
- Select Full Text.
- This limits your search results to articles IW pays for. If you don't select Full Text, your search results will include articles that we don't have.
- If you are required to use a scholarly/academic/peer reviewed article then select Peer Reviewed.
- If you are required to use an article that is less than 5 or 10 years old, you can select the number of years in the drop down. In our example below, we selected Past 5 years to see articles published within the past 5 years.
Use a subject search to help narrow down your search results!
Look for the Advanced Search link under the search box. You will find this on the main search page and on your results page.
With Advanced Search you now have multiple search boxes. This can help you break up your search, especially if you're using the search strategy at the top of this page.
You can also choose to do a Subject Search. In the drop down next to your search terms, you can change the setting from All Fields to Subject Terms. See the screenshot below. This tells the database that you would like articles where your search term is the main subject or main focus. It will help eliminate articles that only briefly discuss your topic.
PubMed is an online resource from the U.S. National Library of Medicine, connecting you with eBooks and articles from scholarly journals. Not all articles found on PubMed are free, but in the screenshot below we will show you how to limit your search results on PubMed to free articles.
If you find something on PubMed that is not free, try searching by the title of the article in the library databases. Since IW purchases access to articles for you, we may have the article. If it's not available at IW, the library may be able to get a copy for you from another library using Interlibrary Loan.
To filter your search results on PubMed check Free full text. The one that just says full text will link you to articles, but will include articles require that you purchase the article to read it.
These filters also let you limit your results to articles that are published within the last 5 or 10 years. It will also allow you to limit your search results to certain types of studies.
Videos: How to Search the Library
Evaluating Health Information Online
It's important to evaluate all information you find online and to take the time to investigate a website before using as a source for research. You can use these suggestions for almost any type of resource or web page but since there are many false or misleading sites online about health and mental health, we are going to focus on those.
Consider the following:
- Audience - Who is the information written for? Sites like WebMD.com or MayoClinic.org are written for consumers; people who do not work in the health care field. The information here is simplified and easy for the average person to read. It will not contain the specifics, data and evidence needed to thoroughly answer a question for a formal research assignment. Stick with sites that are written for professionals in the field. For example, if you're working on an assignment for pharmacology, the Food & Drug Administration website will have a lot of expert research on medication. The National Institute of Mental Health have expert research on mental health related topics.
- Mission - Is the site there to inform you or to try to get you to buy a product, diet, etc. Look for the About Us section on a website to learn about who runs the site and what their purpose is. For example, the American Cancer Society's website exists to help raise awareness and provide information on cancer.
- Funding - The About Us section will also tell you who pays for the site. If a site is run by a corporation and contains many ads, think carefully about whether or not the site may be biased or trying to sell you something. Publicly funded sites, such as the National Institute of Health or CDC provide information without the expectation of making money.
- Credibility - The About Us section will also tell you who is providing the content on the site and whether or not they are experts in that area. A person writing about their experience with depression is not the same as a psychologist writing about depression. Also look to see if the author of the website cites their sources and if they are citing credible sources.
- Dates - Be sure to check the dates on research and information to be sure you are reading about the most current treatments or practices.
For some great practice evaluating sites, check out this tutorial from Medline.
National Institutes of Health Sites
Health Statistics Online
Looking for reliable and up to date statistics on health, mental health, and substance use topics? Try some of these sites.
Drug & Medical Device Information
The DailyMed database contains labeling, submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by companies, for the following products:
- FDA-approved products:
- Prescription drug and biological products for human use (labeling includes Prescribing Information, patient labeling, and carton and container labeling):
- Drug products, and
- Biological products
- Nonprescription (e.g., over-the-counter) drug and biological products for human use
- Certain medical devices for human use
- Medical gases for human and animal use
- Prescription and nonprescription drugs for animal use
- Prescription drug and biological products for human use (labeling includes Prescribing Information, patient labeling, and carton and container labeling):
- Additional products regulated, but not approved, by the FDA:
- Certain medical devices
- Cosmetics
- Dietary supplements
- Medical foods
- Unapproved prescription and nonprescription products
Ask the Library!
Contact the Library
Phone: 712-325-3478
Email: library@iwcc.edu
Ask a Librarian
Questions about formatting, citations, or finding sources?
Schedule an in-person or Zoom meeting with library staff by clicking the Schedule Appointment button.